Modern persian cuisine case 4: deconstructed Mirza ghasemi-Smoked aubergine and sun-dried tomato jam sandwich

Mirza Ghasemi is a dish from Caspian region in Northern Iran. It could be described briefly as a one-pot dish of smoked aubergine, onion, garlic greens and tomatoes, topped with an egg. This was my first deconstruction experience ever and it worked so well cause I believe the final deconstructed product should taste almost the same as the original dish when reconstructed in the mouth, this situation was valid for my case. Mirza ghasemi has three main features, pungent smoky flavor from barbecued aubergine, pungent garlic taste from garlic greens and finally the chard from the pan frying. I will explain the method later and here is what I used:

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 clove of garlic

2 TSP chopped chives

1 TSP smoked black pepper

1 egg

2 Slices of sourdough bread

For Sun-dried tomato jam

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic

4 TSP sugar

Salt, pepper

1/4 TSP Turmeric

1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 Lime

Deconstruction strategy:

To construct the chard from the pan, I fried the egg in olive oil, this will give the egg white a very nice crusty texture. In my tomato jam I used garlic in order to intensify the garlic flavor. I ,alas, do not have a gas stove, so was not able to burn the aubergines' skin to make the flesh smoky. I broiled it with skin to hopefully get some smokiness, that did not happen perfectly then I decided to add some smoked black pepper to be able to move on! If you have a gas stove, then alter the recipe and don't used the smoked pepper.

Cut the aubergine in half and broil until the skin is burnt completely and the flesh is tender.

 Use as little oil for the jam as possible. Add the sugar, slowly cook the onion and garlic until translucent.

 To be loyal to the main dish, I added some turmeric.

 Add the fresh and dried tomatoes.

 Squeeze the lime juice.

 Remove the burnt skin.

 Remove the seeds from the aubergine as they are bitter. cut it lengthwise.

 Saute the the aubergine pieces with garlic and chives, season with salt and smoked pepper.

 Let the jam cool down. The jam could be best made ahead. 

 Fry the egg in olive oil to get a crust. I also added some chopped chives to visually enhance the dish.

 Here it is! My deconstructed Mirza Ghasemi.