Sisko’s Aubergine Stew

[foodreplicator]

I thought it might be nice to stay on Deep Space Nine this week (since it was the 20th Anniversary of the series premiere last week) and sample some of Benjamin Sisko’s wonderful Aubergine stew. Judging by Dax’s reaction in The Nagus, this stew is well worth waiting for. And having tried it now myself, I must admit being pleasantly surprised about how good this was.

Sisko was apparently famous for this dish; he made it when he first met Jennifer, his future wife, and Dax was clearly very familiar with it. I followed the basic structure for a classic aubergine stew but feel free to change the type of meat in there if you wish.

Replicate your own
(Serves 4)

2 eggplants (aubergines), diced into medium pieces
1 onion, diced
1 green capsicum, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
½ leek, chopped into small rings
1 tin crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon each of: dried oregano, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, ground tumeric, cumin and black pepper
Salt
2 or 3 chicken drumsticks, with the bone in
1 or 2 sprigs of parsley, to garnish
Olive oil

Begin by chopping the eggplant and sprinkle the pieces liberally with salt. Set aside while you chop the other vegetables.

In a large pot or saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil. Cook the onion and garlic until soft, then add the spices and cook for a minute or so until they are fragrant. Brush any excess salt off the eggplant and add to the pot, and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the rest of the vegetables (capsicum and leek) and cook until they soften slightly. Then add the crushed tomatoes and stir so everything is coated in the tomatoes. Push the chicken drumsticks down into the vegetables, then put the lid on the pot and cook on a low heat for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is falling off the bones and the vegetables are soft. 

Remove the chicken from the stew and shred the meat. Set aside, along with about ¼ of the stew mixture. Blend the remaining ¾ of the stew so that it is broken into smaller pieces but is still somewhat chunky.

To serve, mix the chicken meat back into the blended stew mixture, and top with the unblended pieces of vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes:

• You can skip the step of salting the eggplant if you wish, but I find it helps the eggplant keep its shape while cooking and also means the eggplant doesn’t go bitter
• This can be served with rice if wished.

[ladyvean]

Do you think this would work without the chicken?