Chef Juliette
Artichauts à la Barigoule
Artichauts à la Barigoule turns tender artichokes into little braising vessels, packed with mushrooms and fat bacon, wrapped, wine-braised, then dressed with only a spoonful of dark, concentrated sauce.
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Aubergines au Gratin
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2047, Aubergines au Gratin, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Fried eggplant shells, equal parts silky pulp and dry duxelles, a crisp gratin cap, and a shining border of light demi-glace: classical economy made generous for four.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
30 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings
Aubergines au Gratin (eggplant halves with a browned crumb crust) teach the difference between richness and wetness. The filling is equal weights of tender eggplant pulp and Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223), a concentrated mushroom preparation, and it must hold a spooned mound before it returns to the shell. If the mixture is loose, no amount of fierce top heat will give you the crisp cap this dish promises.
The original formula assumed a saucier beside you, a stockpot never off the fire for the light demi-glace (half-glaze sauce), a salamander glowing overhead, and enough aubergines for a full service. At home, you need four halves, a modest saucepan of prepared demi-glace, and an ordinary broiler for the light form of Gratins (No. 268). The station choreography is brigade scaffolding and can go. The equal-weight filling, the frying, and the final crust are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Fry the aubergines until their flesh yields but their skins still hold, then drive any loose moisture from the chopped filling before you pack the shells. That drying is the step that decides everything: get it right and the crumb top bronzes while the filling remains soft, savory, and generous beneath it.
Aubergine belongs naturally to the Mediterranean larders of Provence and Languedoc, where cooks have long paired it with olive oil and decisive heat. This filled-shell form belongs to the classical grand-kitchen repertoire, which joined southern produce to concentrated mushrooms and a border of light demi-glace before sending the dish into bourgeois dining rooms. Gratin does not necessarily mean cheese: in the French canon, the word names the browned crust, made here from fine bread raspings and oil.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
medium eggplants
Quantity
2 (about 1½ lb / 680 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
divided
olive oil
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 165 g)
divided
Ordinary or Dry Duxelle
Quantity
About 1½ cups (360 ml / 300 g) Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223)
final amount matched exactly to the cooked eggplant pulp by weight
fine dry breadcrumbs or bread raspings
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 30 g)
Gratins, light-gratin form
Quantity
1 light-gratin application from Gratins (No. 268)
light demi-glace
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g)
warmed
hot water (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
for loosening the demi-glace only if needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium eggplants | 2 (about 1½ lb / 680 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| olive oildivided | ¾ cup (180 ml / 165 g) |
| Ordinary or Dry Duxellefinal amount matched exactly to the cooked eggplant pulp by weight | About 1½ cups (360 ml / 300 g) Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs or bread raspings | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 30 g) |
| Gratins, light-gratin form | 1 light-gratin application from Gratins (No. 268) |
| light demi-glacewarmed | ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) |
| hot water (optional)for loosening the demi-glace only if needed | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •Shallow 2-quart (2-liter) gratin dish
- •Small saucepan
- •Wire rack or absorbent paper
- •Sturdy metal spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the shells
Halve the eggplants lengthwise and trim away the leafy caps without cutting into the flesh. Score each cut face in a shallow diamond pattern, stopping well before the skin, then season with half the salt. Leave them cut-side up for 10 minutes and blot away the moisture that rises. A dry surface browns cleanly and spatters less when it meets the oil.
- 2
Fry until yielding
Heat all but 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the surface glimmers, lower in the eggplant halves cut-side down and fry in batches for 5 to 7 minutes, until deeply golden. Turn them and cook the skin sides for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the flesh yields under a spoon but the shells remain firm enough to lift. If the faces color before the centers soften, lower the heat and continue gently. Drain cut-side down on a rack or absorbent paper.
- 3
Balance the filling
When the halves are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a wall about ¼ inch thick so each shell keeps its shape. Chop the pulp, then weigh it. Fold in exactly the same weight of Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223), reducing either component if necessary to preserve the equal-weight ratio. Warm the mixture in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until it holds a mound and no liquid gathers beneath it. If it slumps or beads water, don't bury the problem under extra crumbs. Return it to brisk heat and evaporate the moisture. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Fill the aubergines
Taste the filling and add the remaining salt only if it needs it, since both the Duxelle and demi-glace are already seasoned. Pack the mixture into the four shells, pressing it into the corners and mounding the tops slightly. Arrange them snugly in a shallow gratin dish. Snug is useful here: the dish supports any shell that softened a little too enthusiastically in the frying pan.
- 5
Form the gratin
Set an oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler and heat it fully. Sprinkle the filled shells evenly with the fine breadcrumbs, then dot and drizzle them with the reserved 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Apply the light form of Gratins (No. 268), using the broiler as the home equivalent of the salamander, until the crumbs are crisp and deep gold, about 3 to 5 minutes. Watch continuously. If one edge darkens first, rotate the dish rather than adding more oil.
- 6
Border with sauce
While the gratin forms, warm the light demi-glace in a small saucepan until glossy and fluid enough to coat a spoon lightly. If it is too thick, whisk in hot water a teaspoon at a time; if it is thin, reduce it briefly over lively heat. Spoon the sauce around the aubergines in a narrow border, never over the crisp tops. Bring the gratin dish directly to the table. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose eggplants that feel heavy for their size, with taut, glossy skins and no soft patches. Two evenly sized specimens give you four shells that fry and gratin at the same pace.
- •Use the scale for the filling. Eggplants vary wildly in water content, so volume can only estimate what the book states precisely: cooked pulp and Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223) in equal weights.
- •There is no cheese in this formula. Gratin names the crust and the action of browning it; the fine raspings, drops of oil, and fierce top heat are enough.
- •The stated cooking time begins with the referenced Duxelle and the light demi-glace already prepared. They are separate foundations in the classical system, not hidden work to squeeze into this dish.
- •Serve beside roast lamb, veal, or a plainly roasted chicken. The mushroom filling and demi-glace already carry plenty of depth, so the main dish needn't perform acrobatics.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Ordinary or Dry Duxelle (No. 223) and light demi-glace up to 2 days ahead. Cool them promptly, cover, and keep them chilled until needed.
- •The aubergines can be fried, hollowed, filled, and arranged in their dish up to 1 day ahead. Cover and chill them, then let the dish lose its refrigerator chill before adding the crumbs and oil.
- •Keep the breadcrumbs dry and the demi-glace separate until serving. Gratin the shells at the last moment and warm the sauce gently while they brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 275g)
Calories
470 calories
Total Fat
39 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
930 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
8 g
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