On the surface, I probably appear to be a totally normal human being. I like to be deemed as “put together”. But if you know me, you know I’m a little….weird. What’s the fun in being normal, anyway? I sing, I dance, I say super strange things constantly, sometimes not thinking before I do. I have a little bit of OCD. I appreciate weirdness all around me. Sometimes, I pretend that vegetables have voices.

If you’ve ever seen Elf, I picture the voice of the animated narwahl with the spike on its head who lives in the pond that says “Bye, Buddy!” to have the exact voice of an eggplant. It’s totally goofy, slow, deep, and doofusy. Eggplants are awkward looking and oblongly shaped so this is the exact voice it would have. Lemons, on the other hand, have the squeakiest voices in the world. They are incredibly sour and acrid, so I’d picture it’s voice to be as such. These two voices could not be more different. But when placed together in a risotto, they are absolutely, positively, a match made in vegetable voice heaven.

Risotto is a process. You’ll be stirring a lot. For about 30 minutes or so, constantly. It’s a grain of rice, arborio rice to be exact, which you saute with garlic and onion, add wine, and slowly add liquid by the ladleful as the rice absorbs it. The liquid needs to be added slowly so that the risotto can maintain it’s shape and be perfectly tender. Doing the traditional rice cooking method would make it mushy, soggy, and undesirable.

But that’s exactly what this dish is not. I happen to love eggplant, and it’s cooked in two ways in this recipe. The lemon is pungent and unexpected and plays perfectly against the muted undertones of the eggplant. They don’t compete, and although opposite in flavor, they somehow go together, in flavor layer euphoria. In my mind, they speak amicably to each other in this dish. Literally.

Lemon & Eggplant Risotto

Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Note: I’m totally in love with this dish. It’s beautiful, vibrant, and amazing. It takes a little work, but I can assure you that it is completely worth it.

Risotto should not be sticky and mushy. It should spread beautifully when placed on a plate. If you need to add more liquid than is listed below in order to achieve this, please do so.

2 medium  eggplants

1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/4 cups risotto rice (arborio rice)

1/2 cup white wine

3 1/4 cups hot vegetable stock

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1-2 cups basil leaves, shredded

coarse sea salt and black pepper

Start by roasting one of the eggplants. This can be done one of two ways. On a gas stove, the eggplant can be put directly on a moderate flame and roasted for 12-15 minutes (turning frequently with metal tongs) until the flesh is soft and smoky and the skin is burnt all over. To roast in the oven, pierce the aubergine with a sharp knife in a few places. Put it on a foil-lined tray and place directly under a hot broiler for 45 minutes, turning a few times. The aubergine needs to deflate completely and its skin should burn and break. It should look very wrinkly. (I did the latter method and it worked wonderfully).

Once the eggplant is ready, remove it from the heat and make a long cut through it. Scoop out the soft flesh while avoiding the skin. Discard the skin. Chop the flesh roughly and set aside.

Cut the other aubergine into a 1/2 inch dice, leaving the skin on. Heat up 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine dice in batches until golden and crisp. Transfer to a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave to cool.

To make the risotto, put the onion and remaining oil in a heavy-based pan and fry slowly until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine (it should hiss) and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until nearly evaporated. Turn the heat down to medium.

Now start adding the hot stock to the rice, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each addition has been fully absorbed before adding the next and stirring all the time. When all the stock has been added remove the pan from the heat. Add half of the lemon zest, the lemon juice, grilled aubergine flesh, butter, most of the parmesan and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir well, then cover and leave aside for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if you like, plus some black pepper.

To serve, spoon the risotto into shallow bowls and sprinkle with the diced eggplant, the remaining parmesan, the basil and the rest of the lemon zest.