Poor Man’s Caviar (Russian Egplant Ikra)

Adapted from The New Baguette

A delicious caviar substitute with a smoky twist! Grilling peppers and eggplant along with raw garlic and tomato make a marvelous “poor man’s caviar” spread for toast or crackers. Known in Russia as “Ikra”, this lovely spread is great for sandwiches, wraps, over cauliflower steaks, fish, chicken, or meat.

So far, my favorite thing to do with this Poor Man’s caviar is to schmear my sourdough crackers with a nice thick layer of Ikra, then top with a hefty layer of tuna salad. Something about the tangy smoky Ikra with creamy mayo and tuna and the crunch of the crackers makes my heart sing.

I “discovered” Ikra on my vacation in September to the Pacific Northwest. I believe it was on Vashon Island where I was desparately searching the shelves of the local grocery store for Sriracha chocolate when I spotted this little jar on the shelf labeled “Eggplant Ikra”. Ikra? I’d never heard of such a thing … and let me tell you, I’ve searched far and wide for interesting eggplant recipes because my mom plants loads of eggplant in her garden and always has a great excess of the lovely purple fruit to share.

I actually didn’t purchase the little jar of Russian Ikra that I saw on the shelf on Vashon Island since we were nearing the end of our trip, but I made a note to do a little research about it, especially because I knew I was coming home to three beautiful garden eggplant (and lots of peppers) that I’d stashed in the veggie drawer the night before we left on vacation and I was already thinking ahead to what to do with those beauties. I always miss my kitchen when I’m travelling.

I browsed several Ikra recipes (while I was still on vacation … my freaky mind never stops thinking about recipes!) … and the most interesting one I found was this one from The New Baguette. She immigrated from the Ukraine to the US when she was 9, so her recipe seemed quite authentic to me, but also one of the most flavorful versions I found. THIS, I decided, was the “Poor Man’s Caviar” that I wanted to try. (and btw, I definitely share much of her mindset about food, health and nutrition. I started making dinner for the family when I was a young teenager (um, yeah, just like her). She feels like my foodie twin in a kind of crazy way!)

But I digress … back to the recipe:

The peppers I had on hand at home were from my parents’ garden, but they weren’t bell peppers. Ever since we experienced New Mexico, my dad has been growing the Hatch green chiles in his garden. Most of the time, the peppers that grow up here in South Dakota are not even remotely close to tasting what you might find in New Mexico and some of the peppers from dad’s garden this time were definitely in that category, especially the great big ripe red ones. They tasted more like a sweet red bell pepper (with a tiny bite) than a Hatch chile pepper. Since I had them on hand (and I always love things with a little bite!), I used my dad’s red chile peppers in my Russian Ikra recipe in place of the bell pepper. (I do want to say the GREEN chiles from dad’s garden did have a really nice kick to them this year. So much of what the peppers give you depends on the weather, but I want to give a shout out to my mom and dad to say “WELL DONE, once again”. My parents are amazing in so many ways and I appreciate them at such a deep level where “thank you” always feels shallow.)

Okay, but yes, again, I’m straying away … back to the Poor Man’s Caviar, aka Ikra (pronounced “eeek-rah”).

My version of Russian Ikra is a cross between New Mexico (which is in the USA, btw) and Russia (if that makes any sense at all!) … I’ve written the recipe with both peppers as options, and I invite you to choose the one that speaks to you. If you don’t have fresh ripe red Hatch red chile peppers at hand and you want a little kick in your Ikra, feel free to add a little hot pepper of your choice (jalapeno? habanero? hot pepper sauce? Experiment and play with it!) … Or if you want something nice and mild yet flavorful, then use the red bell pepper.

Can you roast the eggplant and peppers in the oven instead of grilling them? Absolutely. Go visit my newest foodie friend Alex from The New Baguette for instructions.

BTW, it’s “dark season” here in South Dakota. I always strive to photograph my culinary creations outdoors in natural light, but lighting gets difficult this time of year even in full daylight. Forgive me for the darkness. This is how we live for several months of the year. I wake up in darkness, struggling to drag myself out of bed, and by the end of the workday, it’s completely dark again. It’s hard to get good outdoor photos with such limited daylight and frigid temperatures. My house doesn’t have good lighting inside either. I know, I could be like other bloggers and create or invest in an indoor studio. I’m just not there yet, guys. This blog is a hobby, which I work on in spare moments when I’m not working or being a parent or doing all those normal life responsibilities we all have. I still want the photos to be beautiful, but this time of year, I struggle.

Poor Man’s Caviar (Russian Eggplant Ikra)

• Yield: About 2 cups 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 small eggplant
• 1 large red bell pepper (or 1 – 2 large Hatch red chile peppers)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 of a small onion, cut into chunks
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 of a small lemon
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh cilantro, parsley or other fresh herbs
• 1 medium fresh garden tomato, peeled and chopped

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Instructions

1. Fire up your grill, poke the eggplant several times with a fork, then set it on the grill along with the peppers to roast. Cook until the skin is blackened, turning both the pepper(s) and the eggplant, to make sure all sides are nicely roasted. The eggplant will need more time on the grill to get fully cooked.
2. Set the peppers in a bowl and cover with a plate. Let the eggplant and pepper(s) rest until they are cool enough to handle.
3. Pull the stems, peels and seeds out of the peppers. Cut the top off the eggplant and cut into small chunks. Set both in a blender or mini food processor. Add the garlic, onion, tomato paste, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs and pulse to process until the mixture forms a paste.
4. Remove and stir in the chopped tomatoes. Serve on toasts or crackers, or as a spread for sandwiches, wraps, or over roasted cauliflower steaks, fish, chicken or meat.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2019, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: About 1/4 cup
• Calories: 58
• Fat: 3.8 g