Fare Exchange: Eggplant ideas, more macaroons, secret eateries

Jane Henegar

Welcome to Fare Exchange, as always. The top letter on the stack this week had no recipes. It was merely a thank-you, though there is nothing mere about any expression of thanks.

But before the gratitude, the need. Can you give instructions for a light and fluffy quiche, for simple Korean food for a novice cook, for salmon burgers and for coconut rice?

Mary Crabtree of Hixson wrote: "I would like to know how to make a quiche light and fluffy, like you get when you eat out. I've tried different ways to beat the eggs but it is always flat and heavy."

The request for homemade Korean dishes springs from a comment Mr. and Mrs. Sunday made below, and the salmon burgers and coconut rice were part of a recent food discussion among Fare Exchange friends.

APPRECIATION

Addie McCarty was the giver of thanks, for recipes in this column.

"I made the lasagna and coconut cake and they were really good. I hesitated about putting the raw noodles in the lasagna but they turned out real good and it was very moist. It was my husband's birthday and it was a big hit with his family, and the recipe made plenty. I will never use frozen lasagna again."

And her final words, words that are directed at all of you, were, "Keep up the good work."

EGGPLANT IDEAS

A stop at Ramsey Produce in Hixson today yielded the last O Henry peaches and lovely thin eggplant, just right for the generous portion of eggplant recipes that came in answer to your request.

Janet Nuckolls came first.

"We have had a bumper crop of eggplant in our garden this year. I found this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen website but, as you can see, it was adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe. I have made several batches of this and have frozen it after I puréed it. I will add the cream and cheese when I heat it before serving. I used feta cheese and topped it with croutons. It is wonderful."

Roasted Eggplant Soup

3 medium tomatoes, halved

1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise (or 3 smaller ones)

1 small or medium onion, halved

6 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

4 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth

1/4 cup heavy cream (this can vary; add more to taste, or omit entirely.)

3/4 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on a large baking sheet, or two smaller ones. Brush or drizzle vegetables with oil, then roast them for 20 minutes, pausing only to remove the garlic cloves. Return the pans to the oven for another 25 minutes, until the remaining vegetables are tender and brown in spots.

Remove from oven and scoop eggplant from skin into a heavy, large saucepan or soup pot. Add the rest of the vegetables, thyme and chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes (mine took longer). Cool slightly.

Working in batches, purée soup in blender until it is as smooth as you'd like it to be. If you have an immersion blender, you can do this in the pot.

Back in the pot, add the cream and bring the soup back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in four bowls, sprinkled with goat cheese.

The best dishes we know for using up lots of eggplant are Middle East in origin: baba ganoush and mutabel (read: muh-TAH-bull). They both require baked, puréed eggplant, tahini (sesame seed paste yes Walmart carries it), garlic and olive oil. The rest of the ingredients vary, so ask Chef Google for specifics.

These days, with no garden to supply huge quantities of eggplant, we go to Casablanca on Cherokee Boulevard (just down the hill from Nikki's, where Tubby's used to be) for Middle Eastern treats. Try the skewers, too, and the rice will surprise you. A pot of tea means mint tea.

We generally serve eggplant as a part of a grilled vegetable plate, all cooked about the same way. We cut everything into slabs (eggplant, pepper, onion), brush with good olive oil, and dust with granulated garlic, salt and whatever herbs/spices come to hand easily (often rosemary from the bush by the door). Grill both sides until marked and tender. After the olive oil step, feel free to substitute Old Bay or seasoning salt. If you're a super-taster (more bitter sensors on your tongue than average), you may need to salt the eggplant for 30 minutes and pat dry before proceeding.

At this point in the column, I will, of course, ask those who have authentic recipes for baba ganoush and mutabel to come forth. And I can promise for next week some wonderful eggplant ideas from the collection sent by Linda Leake, recipes with their origins from Macon, Ga., to the Mediterranean.

MORE MACAROONS

Debbie Demos added to the macaroon conversation with a shopping hint.

"I have a package of macaroon cookies in the freezer, purchased at Bi-Lo on East Brainerd Road. The ingredients list includes coconut, also natural and artificial flavors. They're made by Archway. Hope this might work."

And today's final macaroon is from Sandra Oliver's collection; this version is flavored with chocolate.

Chocolate Macaroon Cookies

1 (4-ounce) package sweet baking chocolate

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (7-ounce) can flaked coconut

Place chocolate in top of a double boiler; bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool.

Beat room-temperature egg whites at high speed of an electric mixer 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (about 2 to 4 minutes). Add chocolate and vanilla; beat well. Stir in coconut.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack, leaving them on the parchment paper. Cool, then carefully remove cookies. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.

AUTHENTIC KOREAN

Mr. and Mrs. Sunday, as is their custom, weave shopping suggestions and broad-brush ideas into their missives. Turns out they became creative ethnic cooks while living not out of the country, but out in the country.

"We got good at ethnic cuisine while living in semi-rural Georgia. There's nothing wrong with country cooking and we like it a lot, but we also like variety and strong tastes. If we wanted that, we had to do it ourselves. Our skills are atrophying in Chattanooga because of all the restaurant choices we have now. We keep hoping for a good Korean restaurant."

Authenticity is easier to come by these days in our restaurant-diverse area. Long ago there was a Chinese restaurant called the Kowloon in Eastgate. Our waitress seemed decidedly inauthentic, but when a suspicious diner inquired whether she was from Kowloon she replied in the affirmative.

"Calhoun, Georgia."

MEXICAN MEAL

On one recent rainy Monday night, our route home was through the lovely little town of Chickamauga, and we stopped at Los Potros - one of three Los Potros restaurants in the area. Greeters and servers alike addressed us as "Amigo," and we became just that. Monday night is 75-cent taco night, so two of those and a dish of guacamole made a meal, along with chips and a spicy salsa that had plenty of cilantro.

"Potros" is the Spanish word for colts, or horses, and the walls were covered with life-size, handpainted murals of - of course - horses.

Have you found such a restaurant, welcoming and authentic, on your route home? If so, tell us about it.

Thank you for your company on this day, and do come back.