Recipe for cooking black kettle roasted eggplant soup

Soups for Salads :: Copy-Cat Soups

Black Kettle Roasted Eggplant Soup

Source: Black Kettle Restaurant - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1 eggplant, about 7 in. long, unpeeled (see note)
1 med. onion, cut into 1/2-in. slices
1 whole jalapeno pepper (see note)
1 lrg. red bell pepper, halved, seeds and stem removed
Extra virgin olive oil spray
2 Tbsp. seasoning mixture (see notes)
1 qt. hot chicken stock
1 qt. hot whipping cream
3/4 C. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
3/4 C. flour
Sour cream (for garnish)

Place eggplant, onion and peppers directly on hot grill. Spray with extra virgin olive oil carefully as grill will flame. Sprinkle with about half of seasoning mixture. When golden brown, turn and repeat with oil and seasonings.

If desired, vegetables can be baked at 425 degrees F on a baking sheet about 20 min. until soft and tender. During baking, vegetables should be sprayed with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with seasoning and turned.

When vegetables are done, put in food processor and process until finely minced.

In a lrg. soup pot, add vegetable mixture to stock and cream. Cook over med. heat until heated through, about 5 min. Mix together butter and flour to make roux. Add gradually to soup until desired consistency is achieved. (see note).

To garnish, put sour cream in squeeze bottle and draw some onto soup surface. Using a knife, cut across sour cream to decorate. Makes approximately 3 qt., 10 to 12 side-dish servings or 4 to 6 main-dish servings.)

NOTES: A 7-in. long eggplant, cut into 1-in. slices, might yield from 4 to 6 C.. If you get slightly more than 6 C., it still should be used in the recipe. The extra vegetable will enhance the flavor of the soup.

Because seeds are used in the jalapeo peppers, this soup would be considered fairly hot by most people.

To make seasoning mixture, Mix together equal amounts of garlic salt, basil, oregano, thyme and cayenne pepper.

At the restaurant, this soup is served very thick. It should be thick enough to stand up a soda cracker.