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.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Aubergines à la Provençale
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2049, Aubergines à la Provençale, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Aubergine shells hold their own tender pulp with tomato, garlic, and olive oil, then a crisp gratin crowns them while smooth tomato sauce circles the dish. The lesson is simple: cook the tomato dry.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Outdoor Dining
Budget Friendly
30 min
Active Time
55 min cook•1 hr 25 min total
Yield4 servings
Aubergines à la Provençale (Provençal-style eggplants) teaches one discipline: water is the enemy of a gratin. The aubergine is already tender and generous; the tomato must be cooked until concentrated, or it will flood the shells, soften the crumbs, and turn a bright southern dish into a puddle.
The book's formula assumed that the fried shell-and-pulp base was already understood, a saucier had smooth tomato sauce waiting, and a salamander stood ready to bronze the top. At home, one wide pan cooks the filling, one cup of prepared tomato sauce replaces the constantly tended sauce pot, and the broiler does the salamander's work. The quantities here are scaled to four small aubergines, while the intended sequence remains intact: tomato replaces dry Duxelles, garlic and olive oil season the filling, breadcrumbs form the gratin, and tomato sauce surrounds it. The extra hands are scaffolding; that sequence is the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the aubergine shells slump tenderly beneath a compact red filling, the crumbs are crisp and golden, and the surrounding sauce gleams without touching the crust. Cook the tomato-pulp mixture until a spoon drawn through it leaves a clean path that stays open. That dryness is the one step that decides the whole gratin.
Aubergines à la Provençale belongs to Provence and the olive-oil South, where aubergine meets the region's defining kitchen trio of tomato, garlic, and oil. Classical kitchens gave that household combination a formal shell-and-pulp treatment, substituting tomatoes for Duxelles and tomato sauce for the light half-glaze of aubergines au gratin. Provençale here does not mean lavender, cheese, or a fistful of mixed herbs: the formula is exact, tomatoes tossed in oil with a little garlic, crumbs browned above, and tomato sauce around.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fried aubergine shell-and-pulp base
Quantity
1 home-scale preparation using 4 small aubergines (about 2 lb / 900 g) of Aubergines au Gratin (No. 2047)
stopped after frying, emptying the shells, and chopping the pulp, before adding Duxelles
ripe plum tomatoes
Quantity
the same weight as the scooped aubergine pulp, about 3 cups (720 ml / 500 g)
peeled, seeded, and diced
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g)
divided
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove (about 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 3 g)
finely minced
fine salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
fine fresh breadcrumbs
Quantity
1 home-scale application of Gratins (No. 268), using 1/3 cup (80 ml / 30 g)
smooth prepared tomato sauce
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
warmed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fried aubergine shell-and-pulp basestopped after frying, emptying the shells, and chopping the pulp, before adding Duxelles | 1 home-scale preparation using 4 small aubergines (about 2 lb / 900 g) of Aubergines au Gratin (No. 2047) |
| ripe plum tomatoespeeled, seeded, and diced | the same weight as the scooped aubergine pulp, about 3 cups (720 ml / 500 g) |
| extra-virgin olive oildivided | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) |
| garlicfinely minced | 1 small clove (about 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 3 g) |
| fine saltdivided | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| fine fresh breadcrumbs | 1 home-scale application of Gratins (No. 268), using 1/3 cup (80 ml / 30 g) |
| smooth prepared tomato saucewarmed | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Large wide frying pan
- •Shallow 3-quart broiler-safe gratin dish
- •Flexible spatula or large spoon
- •Small saucepan for warming the tomato sauce
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the aubergine base
Prepare the shell-and-pulp base from Aubergines au Gratin (No. 2047) at the four-aubergine scale. Stop once the aubergines have been fried, the shells emptied, and the tender pulp chopped. Keep the eight half-shells intact and set the pulp aside; do not carry over the Duxelles, breadcrumb finish, or light half-glaze, because this entry replaces each of those elements. If a shell tears while being emptied, overlap the torn edges and place it snugly against its neighbours in the gratin dish. Ça se rattrape.
- 2
Reduce the tomato filling
Weigh the chopped aubergine pulp, then use the same weight of prepared tomato. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for twenty seconds, just until fragrant, then immediately add the diced tomatoes and half the salt. Cook briskly for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes collapse and their loose liquid disappears. Fold in the chopped aubergine pulp, season with the pepper, and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. The filling is ready when it gathers around the spoon and a path scraped across the pan stays open.
If the filling still releases a pool of liquid, lift the solids into a bowl and reduce the liquid alone over higher heat until thick, then fold everything back together. Do not bury the problem beneath extra crumbs. Ça se rattrape. - 3
Fill the shells
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Taste the filling and add the remaining salt if needed; it should be savoury enough to carry both the mild aubergine and the unsalted crumbs. Brush a shallow broiler-safe gratin dish with a little of the remaining oil, arrange the shells snugly inside, and divide the tomato-pulp mixture among them. Mound it gently without packing it hard, keeping the filling inside the rims so its moisture cannot run beneath the shells.
- 4
Form the gratin
Apply the rapid finishing principle of Gratins (No. 268): scatter the fine breadcrumbs evenly over the filled shells and drip the remaining olive oil across the crumbs. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the aubergines are hot through and the sauce at their edges begins to bubble. Switch the oven to its broiler and brown the top for 2 to 4 minutes, watching without wandering away. The broiler is the honest home equivalent of the salamander. If the crumbs darken before the centres are hot, move the dish to a lower rack, turn off the broiler, and give it another 5 minutes in the oven.
- 5
Circle with sauce
While the gratin browns, warm the tomato sauce gently. If it pours like water, reduce it until it lightly coats a spoon; if it has tightened into paste, loosen it with a tablespoon of water. Spoon the sauce around the aubergines as a generous border, never across the crisp tops. Bring the gratin dish straight to the table while the crumbs are golden and the sauce still gleams. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose small or medium aubergines with taut, glossy skins. They hold their shape better than one enormous aubergine and give every serving its own proper shell.
- •In tomato season, plum tomatoes bring the right balance of flesh and juice. When the fresh ones are pale and tired, use good canned whole tomatoes, drained and seeded before weighing. The classical pantry solved poor seasons long ago.
- •There is no cheese in this formula, and no mixed-herb blanket. Tomato, garlic, olive oil, and the crisp raspings are enough. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
- •Keep the tomato sauce around the aubergines rather than over them. The border belongs to the dish, but the gratin must remain crisp.
- •Serve beside grilled lamb, roast chicken, or simply a sharp green salad and bread. For an outdoor lunch, pour a dry Provençal rosé or a light red with enough acidity for the tomatoes.
Advance Preparation
- •The tomato and aubergine filling can be cooked a day ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate; warm it gently before filling the shells so the gratin heats evenly.
- •The aubergines can be assembled up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated without the breadcrumbs. Bring the dish out 20 minutes before baking, then add the crumbs and oil at the last moment.
- •Prepared tomato sauce keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator. Warm it gently and correct its consistency just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 335g)
Calories
210 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
870 mg
Total Carbohydrates
25 g
Dietary Fiber
9 g
Sugars
14 g
Protein
5 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Vegetables and Farinaceous Products - Artichokes and Egg-Plant
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Cœurs d’Artichauts à la Clamart
Artichoke hearts, spring peas, and carrot settle into one buttered cocotte, cooking gently until tender before Manied Butter (No. 151) gives their clear vegetable liquor the lightest gloss.
Chef Juliette
Artichokes with Divers Sauces
Artichauts aux sauces diverses bring one generous lesson to the table: tie, boil, and drain the vegetables properly, then let one well-made sauce turn each leaf and heart into supper.
Chef Juliette
Artichauts à la Provençale
Artichauts à la Provençale turns a tight lid into technique: small artichokes, sweet peas, and lettuce soften in olive oil and their own juices, emerging tender, green, and quietly glossy.