Eggplant soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g eggplant(s)
• Salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 500 g beef tomatoes or chopped tomatoes from the can
• 750 ml vegetable stock
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• Pepper, freshly ground
• 100 ml whipped cream
• Basil for garnishing

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

vegetarian

Wash the eggplant, remove the stem, and cut into 1 cm cubes. Sprinkle with salt and let stand, covered, for about 1/2 hour. In the meantime, make a cross-shaped incision in the fresh tomatoes, blanch them in hot water, peel them, remove the cores, and chop the flesh. Finely chop the onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Pat the eggplant cubes dry, add them, and fry them vigorously. Add the chopped tomatoes and top up with the vegetable stock. Season with freshly ground pepper, salt, and a pinch of sugar. Simmer everything for about 20 minutes. Season the soup with about half of the sweet cream. Pluck the basil leaves from the stems, reserving a few for garnish, roughly chop the rest, and stir them into the soup at the end of the cooking time. Serve the eggplant soup in four soup bowls and garnish each with 1 tablespoon of sweet cream and basil leaves. Crispy baguette goes well with it.