<table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing="0"><tr><td>
<pre>I was finally able to access Paula Wolfert's site
(http://www.paula-wolfert.com/ <A HREF="http://www.paula-wolfert.com/">Click
here: Welcome to Paula Wolfert's Web Site</A> ) today and she has the
following two aubergine/eggplant recipes. Though not Syrian, they sound good,
and as usual, her tips are most helpful.

http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/caviar.html <A
HREF="http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/caviar.html">Click here: Recipe:
Mediterranean Caviar</A>

Mediterranean Caviar

The following spread, served cool on toasted slices of French bread, is a
combination of eggplant caviar and the famous samfaina of Catalonia. Samfaina
is a ratatouille-style garnish of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and eggplant
cooked down to a marmalade and used to accompany fish, poultry, and meat.
Though its ingredients are classically Mediterranean, a really first-rate
samfaina is not easy to make. The Catalan food commentator Josef Pla has
called it "a dish of optimism." Made properly in autumn, when its component
vegetables are in a state of absolute perfection, it becomes a truly great
thing-- great enough, to paraphrase Pla, to give one optimism about the
possibility of perfection on this earth.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

1 eggplant (1 1/4 pounds) firm, smooth-skinned
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 large, fleshy sweet red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into small
squares
1 small green bell pepper, cored, stemmed, seeded, and cut into small cubes
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1/2 cup drained canned plum
tomatoes, seeds discarded
3 garlic cloves, minced 2 flat anchovy fillets, drained and crushed with a
fork
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the eggplant; brush it with 1
tablespoon of the olive oil, and place it in a baking dish. Bake 40 minutes,
turning midway. Place the peppers (red and green) in a baking dish and set
in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, stirring them midway, too.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over low heat in a heavy
skillet; add the onion and 3 tablespoons of water, and cook, stirring , for
10 minutes. Add the tomato and cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Add
the baked peppers and the garlic, and cook over a low heat, stirring, until
the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Fold in the anchovies and cook 1 to
2 minutes. Leave the mixture in the skillet off the heat.

3. Remove the eggplant when it is completely soft and the skin is blistery.
Scrape the flesh from the skin (this is very easy if you first split the
cooked eggplant lengthwise while still hot, then allow it to cool for 10
minutes under a kitchen towel). Discard any hard seeds and the skin. (See
note.)

4. On a wooden work surface, mash the eggplant with a wooden spoon until
smooth. At the same time work in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the eggplant, salt, and pepper to the other vegetables. Fry, constantly
stirring, until all the liquid evaporates and there are only oil and
vegetables left, about 15 minutes. Stir carefully to avoid scorching but be
sure to allow the mixture to become somewhat dark in color. Season to taste.
Cool, cover, and refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to serve.
Return it to room temperature before serving.

Note to the Cook:
However carefully you select them, some eggplants will be extremely bitter.
After scraping off the baked skin, taste the flesh; if necessary squeeze the
warm pulp through the fingers to remove the bitter juices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/chop_liver.html <A
HREF="http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/chop_liver.html">Click here:
Recipe: "Chopped Liver" Made with Eggplant (Israel)</A>

"Chopped Liver" made with Eggplant (Israel)

"This dish was developed in the late forties, when there was hardly any
meat here and food was rationed," writes Israeli food writer, Dalia Lamdani,
in a letter to me from Tel Aviv. Dalia is describing the background of this
vegetarian "chopped liver" salad in which eggplant stands in for the liver.
She goes on:"The dish lost its popularity as the economy improved and nobody
wanted to remember the hard times. It reemerged in the nineties, and pops up
now in the most unlikely places----Arab restaurants, the deli corner of a
supermarket chain, even in the latest edition (1991) of the IDF (Israeli
Defense Forces) cookbook."

Some cooks have a talent for frying eggplant without needing to add more
oil to the pan. Others find they must keep adding oil, and so end up with a
heavy dish. Because frying really enhances the flavor of an eggplant salad,
I've devised a solution based on a method I learned years ago in Morocco: Fry
as many slices as possible with the amount of oil specified in the recipe;
when you run out of oil, steam the remaining slices, then crush all the
slices (fried and steamed) in the skillet, stirring constantly over medium
heat until all the moisture has evaporated and the oil is released. This way
all the eggplant is imbued with the same good fried-eggplant flavor. Since
you want coarse texture, please don't puree the slices in a food processor.


Serves 6 to 8 and makes 1 quart

2 1-pound eggplants, peeled and sliced
Coarse salt
Flour for dusting the eggplant slices
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
3 hard-cooked eggs, shelled
Freshly ground pepper

1. Lightly salt the eggplants and leave to drain in a colander for 30
minutes.

2. Rinse, squeeze and dry the slices. Dust them with flour and fry in batches
in hot oil until brown on both sides. Drain eggplant in a colander. When you
need more oil, add the remaining eggplant to the skillet, cover and steam the
slices until tender. Return the fried slices to the skillet and over medium
heat, cook and gently crush all the eggplant with the back of a spatula until
the oil is released and the contents begin to fry. When the eggplant is
lightly browned but still retains some texture remove from the skillet and
let cool.

3. Add the onions, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water to the oil left in the
skillet and cook for 20 minutes. (Most of the water should have evaporated.)
Uncover and let the mixture slowly turn golden, stirring occasionally. Remove
from the heat and let cool.

4. In a wooden bowl, or on a wooden work-surface, combine the eggplant with
the onions and eggs, chopping until well blended. Season with salt and pepper
and serve chilled.
</pre>
</td></tr></table>