I was introduced to this delicacy about 30 years ago by a little Russian lady
named Manya who had escaped the Russian revolution via the trans-Siberian
railroad hauling 5 children through Manchuria and Japan en route to the United
States. Which is, per se, irrelevant to the recipe itself, but a tribute to
this wonder-
ful woman.
I don't actually remember how Manya made the lucious concoction, but it is
a forgiving recipe. The eggplant can be roasted, as an earlier contributer
suggested;
I've also steamed it and then scooped out the interior.
A big key to me is chopping fresh tomatoes, peeled with THE SEEDS STILL in
them!
Some recipes I've read remover the seeds, but not only do I find this to be
superfluous,
I also find that the seed, those little gelatinous glisteny bits add to the
whole caviar
impression. I like to put a finely minced clove or two of garlic, and some
extremely
finely chopped onion. A Tablespoon or so of olive oil IS a feature of the
classic recipe,
but, while it adds a flavour, is definitely optional. Lemon juice is good,
or even lime juice
(I LOVE LIMES and will probably find a way to put their juice on cornflakes
when I become
dotty.) I simmer the mess together, trying to cook out a fairish amount of
the fluid. Stick
it in the fridge and you have a wonderful dip/spread/topping: a reason to
celebrate
vegetarianism and beloved even unto omnivores: eggplant caviar!