Regardless of what ya call it, we have it. I think I mentioned that we had a hard time keeping up with one plant last year – so this year we planted two of them.

What were we thinking?!?

I mean… it may be time to put myself up for a Darwin Award. Well… an Honorable Mention, anyway…

They are the plants that keep on giving – and look as if they will be giving for quite a while. Time to start getting creative.

I decided tonight was going to be an all-eggplant egg-straveganza and thought a souffle was in order. When was the last time you had an eggplant souffle?!? If your answer is “never” – join the club. Neither had we.

Which, of course, meant I had to make one.

A souffle is basically stuff lightened by egg whites and baked in the oven, so I felt reasonably confident I could pull this one off. I’m good at stuff and we always have plenty of eggs in the house. Off to the kitchen I went…

There were 5 eggplants in the bowl on the table. I took the largest three and started work. One was going to be for the main course part of dinner – two for the souffle.

Eggplant Souffle

• 2 medium eggplants
• 3 green plum tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/2 cup dry marsala
• Robiola cheese
• Asiago Cheese
• Ricotta Salada Cheese
• Provolone Cheese
• Mozzarella Cheese
• 5 eggs
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Oregano
• Fresh Mint
• Fresh Chives
• S&P

I peeled and diced 2 of the eggplants and tossed them in a bowl with some olive oil and a bit of S&P. I spread it out on a sheet pan and roasted it for about 45 minutes at 375°F. along with 3 green plum tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic.

Meanwhile, I sauteed the diced celery and shallots in a combination of butter and olive oil.

When the eggplant was well cooked and nicely browned, I mixed it and the garlic and the tomatoes with the celery. I then added the chopped herbs. I just picked and grabbed – probably about a loosely-packed half cup all together.

Next went the cheese. I probably used just under 2 cups of chopped, sliced, and/or shredded cheeses.

I let it cool just a bit and then added 5 egg yolks and mixed it all very well.

I whipped the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar to stiff peaks and then folded them into the eggplant mixture.

I buttered a casserole dish and then coated it with bread crumbs and poured the eggplant inside, leveled the top, and placed it into a 350°F oven for about 45 minutes.

This really rocked the Casbah! Really light, rich, and flavorful. Great texture and consistency. Almost like I have to start making more souffles!

And then we had the main course – sausages and vegetables…

Into the pot went a clean-out-the-‘fridge assortment of veggies… the third eggplant – sliced into strips, fennel, beans from the garden, watermelon radishes, onion, celery, carrots, yellow zucchini, along with some garlic, red wine, and S&P. I covered it and let it simmer away for about 20 minutes, and then added some peeled potatoes I just cut in half and buried in the pan. A few minutes later, I added the sausage and let it cook another 10 minutes, covered. Then it went uncovered into a 375°F oven to brown the sausage and evaporate a bit of the juices.

Two totally different eggplant concepts – and they both worked well…

I wonder what eggplant ice cream would be like?

Hmmmmmm………