Sformato di Melanzana (Eggplant)
A sformato or sformatino is a custard-like dish that takes its name from the Italian word sformare, meaning to ‘unmold’ or ‘turn out.’ They can be savory or sweet, and are often served as individual portions. A sweet version might resemble more a soft cake or soufflé, such as a chocolate sformato; while a savory sformato is like creamy custard made from zucchini, spinach, or potatoes, or a mix of several vegetables. When cooked, a sformato should be compact enough to hold together when removed from the baking dish (after cooling—more below), but still creamy and delicate. Sformati are typically served with a sauce, often a béchamel. A crunchy garnish complements the sformato’s consistency nicely.
Peel the eggplant and roughly cut into cubes. Place the pieces in a large colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Toss and let rest for about 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 150° C / 300° F.
Prepare the garnish ingredients. Peel and deseed the tomatoes. Chop into small cubes and drizzle with olive oil, add a few torn leaves of fresh basil, and salt. Stir and set aside. Peel and slice the onions into thin rings.
After 30 minutes, the eggplant will have bled out a lot of liquid (this step is not always necessary, but for this recipe minimizing the liquid present in the custard is a good idea). Wring out the eggplant with a tea towel or paper towels. Sauté the eggplant cubes in a few tablespoons of olive oil until very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the cooked eggplant to a food processor (without any pan liquids). Add the cream, egg and egg yolk, cheese, salt and pepper. Process until you have a thick, uniform liquid.
Fill four ramekins with the eggplant cream. Note: an optional step is to butter the ramekins and dust them with flour or fine bread crumbs prior to filling. Doing so will facilitate the ‘turning out’ of the custards and will also help them keep their shape on the plate, but this will also result in a crust, rendering the sformati more like a flan. Cook’s choice!
Place the filled ramekins inside a large shallow baking dish. Fill the dish with water to create a bain-marie. You want the water to reach about halfway up the side of the ramekins. Place in the ready oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes. The sformati are done when a toothpick inserted the middle comes out completely clean and they have firmed (but not too much!).
Remove the sformati from the hot water. While they are cooling, fry first the onions and then the basil leaves (just a few seconds) in a ½ cup of olive oil or other vegetable oil. Transfer to paper and lightly salt.
Assemble your sformati. Gently run a fine knife all along the edge of the dish to separate the custard. If they are still hot, they might fall apart when turned out. They are quite good at room temperature, so not to worry if you have to let them cool longer. Place a small serving plate over each ramekin, cross your fingers, and quickly turn the dishes over. If the custard does not turn out immediately, gently tap the bottom of the ramekin with a wooden spoon. If it only partially turns out, you can piece the sformato back together as needed. Now garnish with a scoop of the tomato salsa and the crunchy onions and basil.
