Sunchoke and Preserved Eggplant Salad with Smoked Aioli and Fennel Pollen

Executive Chef Cassidee Dabney always finds a way to put beauty on the plate. While we await the lively colors and flavor that the Spring garden will soon supply, Cassidee is keeping her late Winter menu exciting with dishes like this Sunchoke and Preserved Eggplant Salad.

Preserved Garden Eggplant
2 large eggplants
½ cup kosher salt
6 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons Greek oregano
½ Tablespoon Aleppo Pepper
1 pint good olive oil

Day 1: Peel eggplants, and toss in a bowl with salt. Place on a perforated pan to drain overnight. Add a pan on top of the eggplant with a small amount of weight to help drain the eggplant.

Day 2: Boil the eggplant in two parts water and one-part white wine vinegar, and cook until slightly tender.

Strain and place on kitchen towels to dry over night

Day 3: Shave garlic into a cold pan with Aleppo pepper, Greek oregano and high quality extra virgin olive oil. Bring the oil to a simmer, and remove from heat just to steep the oil. Toss the eggplant with the oil, pack into an air-tight container and fill with remaining oil. Let it rest for at least one week

Smoked Aioli
1 cup smoky oil
2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Dijon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Smoke one onion, cut into ¼’s at 200 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Simmer the smoked onion in 2 cups of oil for 20 minutes, strain and cool.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and Dijon. Slowly drizzle in 1 cup of smoked oil as you whisk, insuring that the oil is emulsified into the yolks. Add all of the oil. The mixture should be very thick. Add the lemon juice and the salt. Refrigerate until needed.

Grated Sunchoke
6 large sunchokes
1 lemon
2 Tablespoons salt
2 quarts of water

Scrub the sunchokes clean, grate on the largest grate on a box grater. Immediately put the grated sunchoke in the water, salt and add the juice of the lemon and the juiced lemon in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook gently for three minutes. Strain and drain out all excess water with a kitchen towel.

Roasted Sunchoke
Clean and roast 6-8 sunchokes that have been tossed in oil, and salt at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Let the roasted sunchokes cool slightly then smash them.

Sear the smashed sunchokes in a large sauté pan until crispy.

To Finish
Chopped chives
Fennel pollen
Fresh dill
Edible flowers
Petite greens

Mix together 2 cups of the preserved eggplant, 2 cups grated sunchoke and ½ - ¾ cup smoky aioli.

Season to taste, and add chopped chives.

Top each crispy sunchoke with 2/3 cup of the dressed salad. Sprinkle with fennel pollen, dill and garnish with petite greens and edible flowers.