Roasted Eggplant Parm Soup

 This recipe is from Rachael Ray and the funny thing about it was that I asked Kevin if he would like this soup - he said no- I clearly did not process that and bought the ingredients and made the recipe. His first comment was this is sooooo good! Please note all the italic comments.

2 large firm eggplants 

3 tablespoons EVOO 

1 onion, finely chopped 

Salt and pepper 

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

2 teaspoons dried oregano 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 cup Italian red wine 

2 cups stock, bone broth or vegetable stock 

One 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed or diced tomatoes 

1 jar passata (3 cups tomato puree) 

A handful of basil leaves, torn 

¾ pound shredded (NOT finely grated) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

Red pepper flakes or black pepper 

Finely chopped thyme

Turn oven to 500°F, with rack at center. 

Pierce the eggplants a few times each with tines of a fork. Roast until tender and charred. Cool. Peel most of the skin and chop or mash into a thick pulp. It took mine just over an hour to be tender.

Heat a soup pot over medium to medium high heat with EVOO, then add the onions, season with salt and pepper and soften a few minutes.

Add garlic and stir in oregano. 

Add tomato paste and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add wine and simmer for another minute. I actually let it simmer for abour 3 minutes.

Add stock, tomatoes, passata and eggplant paste. Wilt in basil. 

Bring soup to a simmer and cook over low heat while you make your frico.  I actually let it simmer for 30-45 minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down and then used a masher to break it up more.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add small piles of shredded cheese. Cook a few at a time, 2 to 3 minutes to melt, then carefully turn and cook 30 seconds to a minute more. 

Transfer to paper towel-lined tray and top with red or black pepper and thyme.

Serve your soup in a bowl topped with FRICO. We decided after the frist serving it is even better with the frico broken up into bite size pieces as you add it so you get a bite of it with every spoonful!