Don’t be fooled by the modern-sounding title—I first found a delightfully simple version of this recipe in Olga Franko’s brilliant 1929 book called Practical Cooking. I was intrigued by the way that, throughout the book, the Ukrainian terms for eggplant and tomatoes seemed very confused: the word for eggplant is “purple tomato” and for tomato “red eggplant”!  

　　If you haven’t tried eggplant with butter before, this will be a revelation. It is delicious and silky and makes for the best starter or sharing dish. Add some fresh herbs too, if you have them.

　　

Ingredients

6 servings

　　1 large eggplant

　　1 ½ tablespoons best-quality butter,softened

　　6 slices sourdough bread

　　1 large garlic clove, peeled and cut in half

　　2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half

　　Finely chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, cilantro (optional)

　　Sea salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

You need to blacken and cook the eggplant until it collapses, as you would for baba ganoush. The best result comes from doing this over the smoldering coals of a barbecue, but you can also do it over an open flame if you have a gas stove: set the eggplant directly over a medium flame and keep turning it with your tongs every 5 minutes—it should take about 10–15 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast it in a 425°F oven or under a hot broiler for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

　　

Step 2

When the eggplant is charred on the outside and really soft inside, set it aside on a plate until it is just cool enough to handle. Pour off the liquid that will have come out of the eggplant into a bowl, then use your fingers to peel off the skin – don’t worry if some of it doesn’t come off, it will only add to the flavor. Add the eggplant flesh to the bowl containing the liquid and mash with a fork. While it is still warm, whisk in the butter with the fork and add some salt and pepper, then taste – it should be well seasoned and taste of comfort, like baba ganoush’s Ukrainian third cousin.

　　

Step 3

Grill your slices of bread on a griddle pan (or toast them), then rub first with the garlic, followed by the tomatoes – as you would for Spanish pan con tomate. Now spoon some of the eggplant butter on top. Garnish with some finely chopped soft herbs, if you like, and serve.

　　

Step 4

If there is any eggplant butter leftover, it will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

　　Reprinted from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules with permission by Weldon Owen Books, 2020.Buy the full book from Amazon.