Roasted Eggplant (Aubergine) Soup

Dave's Note:

The recipe calls for one cup of cream, but the soup tastes equally delicious without it.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 Batch

• 3 medium tomatoes, halved
• 1 (1 1/2 lb) eggplants, halved lengthwise
• 1 small onion, halved
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock (or more) or 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or more)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Place tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on large baking sheet. Brush vegetables with oil. Roast until vegetables are tender and brown in spots, about 45 minutes.
3. Remove from oven.
4. Scoop eggplant from skin into heavy large saucepan; discard skin. Add remaining roasted vegetables and thyme to same saucepan.
5. Add 4 cups chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Cool slightly.
7. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
8. Stir in cream. Bring to simmer, thinning with more stock, if desired.
9. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls.
10. Sprinkle with goat cheese; serve.

Reviews

[s'kat]

Wow, what a wonderful and different soup! I added a bit of potato and zucchini to the recipe, and processed only about 3/4 of it in blender, to maintain texture. I omitted the cream, but added a hearty splash of white wine to simmer until dinner was ready. My fiancee said, "wow, this kinda reminds me of french onion... except, ya know, it's different!" hehehe! THIS WAS INCREDIBLE!!! Thank you for such a yummy new soup! [ps- this goes fantastically with the aloo paratha (indian potato-stuffed flatbreads) that i also posted.]

[Norahs Girl]

Lovely,I added a 1 tsp freshly grated ginger to it as well.

[Elenabaskets]

This soup is the easest and the most delicious soup I have ever had. Elena Olivieri