35 Min
DF
GF
V
Boronia
It’s not every day that someone cooks a meal for me and seldom do I remember one for as long as the one my friend Emmy Vest cooked for me early this spring.
Emmy and I worked at Cafe Annie together back in the day, and shortly after I left to open Indika, she went on to run the food division at NASA. We come from totally different cultures (she is of Colombian descent), but we’ve bonded over our immigrant stories, have remained friends ever since. She is one of the few people with whom I can have inexhaustible food conversations.
That afternoon, enjoying a meal at Emmy’s home with cool air coming in from the nearby coast of Galveston, I tasted yet another iteration of my beloved eggplant. Emmy had made boronia, a Colombian concoction of smoked eggplant and plantains peppered with spices. It reminded me of the Punjabi baingan bhartha, but even better.
Here, smoked eggplant and smoked plantain come together with sofrito — essentially a masala with peppers, onions, garlic, cumin and tomato — to make the heavenly boronia. I popped cumin seeds in it for a better punch and threw in turmeric and black pepper. Eat it over warm toast, stuffed into an omelet or with roti or pita. It’s good warm, room temperature and cold. Pair it with fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro or basil and a sharp cheese such as aged cheddar or chèvre.
It’s not every day that someone cooks a meal for me and seldom do I remember one for as long as the one my friend Emmy Vest cooked for me early this spring.
Emmy and I worked at Cafe Annie together back in the day, and shortly after I left to open Indika, she went on to run the food division at NASA. We come from totally different cultures (she is of Colombian descent), but we’ve bonded over our immigrant stories, have remained friends ever since. She is one of the few people with whom I can have inexhaustible food conversations.
That afternoon, enjoying a meal at Emmy’s home with cool air coming in from the nearby coast of Galveston, I tasted yet another iteration of my beloved eggplant. Emmy had made boronia, a Colombian concoction of smoked eggplant and plantains peppered with spices. It reminded me of the Punjabi baingan bhartha, but even better.
Here, smoked eggplant and smoked plantain come together with sofrito — essentially a masala with peppers, onions, garlic, cumin and tomato — to make the heavenly boronia. I popped cumin seeds in it for a better punch and threw in turmeric and black pepper. Eat it over warm toast, stuffed into an omelet or with roti or pita. It’s good warm, room temperature and cold. Pair it with fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro or basil and a sharp cheese such as aged cheddar or chèvre.
35 Minutes
4
Notes & Variations
- In a pinch, use smoked ripe bananas instead of plantains. They do not have the depth of flavor plantain does, but they work well with this dish.
- To ripen plantains, place them in a brown paper bag and keep them away from light. They will turn dark and appear gnarly but will sweeten on the inside.
- When smoking eggplants and plantains, tiny pieces of the charred fruit will fall into the mash — keep it there; it adds to the flavor.
Notes & Variations
- In a pinch, use smoked ripe bananas instead of plantains. They do not have the depth of flavor plantain does, but they work well with this dish.
- To ripen plantains, place them in a brown paper bag and keep them away from light. They will turn dark and appear gnarly but will sweeten on the inside.
- When smoking eggplants and plantains, tiny pieces of the charred fruit will fall into the mash — keep it there; it adds to the flavor.
Tags:
Stock Your Pantry
Tags:
Stock Your Pantry
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