Recipe: Eggplant Manti

Greenmarkets have been fixtures throughout the five boroughs since 1976, showcasing nature’s bounty and various products from around the Tristate area and beyond. A part of GrowNYC, which launched in 1970 as the Council on the Environment of New York City, the number of markets have — literally — grown so much that over 50 can be found throughout the city, with vendors including Andrew’s Local Honey (Fairfield, Connecticut), Fringe Farm (Rensselaer County, New York) and Valley Shepherd Creamery (Morris County, New Jersey). 

The flagship in Union Square, open every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, is always bustling with locals, tourists and chefs from across the city. Our own Health-Supportive Culinary Arts chef-instructor, Nin Pornsriniyom, recently visited to stock up on eggplant for her take on manti, a style of dumpling popular in Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisine. 

For her recipe, Chef Nin roasted Italian eggplant for the filling and flavored the manti dough with black tahini. She finished the dish with a charred eggplant sauce, homemade yogurt, Sichuan chile oil and flash-fried fairy tale eggplants she plucked from the market.

Stay tuned for more as our chef-instructors will be heading to the greenmarket every month for recipe inspiration and development.

In the meantime, try your hand at Chef Nin's manti at home.

Recipe

Eggplant Manti

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the Eggplant Filling:

• 2 kilograms Italian eggplants
• 150 grams onion, minced
• 4 grams ground cumin
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

For the Charred Eggplant Sauce:

• 1 kilogram whole Italian eggplant, plus reserved roasted eggplant flesh from eggplant filling recipe
• 120 grams black tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon
• 6 grams salt
• Water, as needed

For the Sichuan Chile Oil:

• 500 grams neutral oil
• 3 grams whole cinnamon
• 1 gram whole star anise
• 1 gram bay leave
• 10 grams whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 15 grams halved shallots
• 10 grams garlic, crushed
• 10 grams scallions, roughly chopped
• 20 grams red chile flakes
• 10 grams salt

For the Fresh Yogurt:

• 1.5 kilograms whole milk
• 25 grams yogurt starter

For the Crispy Fairy Tale Eggplants:

• 2 fairy tale eggplants, thinly sliced 
• 2 grams white distilled vinegar
• 2 grams salt
• All-purpose flour, for breading
• Neutral oil, for frying

For the Black Manti Dough:

• 240 grams all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 60 grams black tahini
• 6 grams salt
• Water, if needed

Directions

For the Eggplant Filling:

1. Roast eggplants on open flame until the skin is tender and dark; reserve.
2. In a medium sauté pan, cook diced onion until caramelized. 
3. When the eggplant is cool to the touch, remove the skin keeping some of the flesh in tact. Reserve the rest of eggplant flesh for eggplant sauce.
4. Place eggplant skin in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until minced. 
5. Add eggplant skin to caramelized onion, and season with ground cumin and salt; reserve and cool completely.

For the Charred Eggplant Sauce:

1. Roast the whole eggplant over an open flame until very tender throughout and the skin is collapsing, about 30 minutes. Immediately place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Once eggplant is cool to the touch, peel and remove flesh. 
3. Place in a Vitamix with black tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt, and blend until smooth; reserve.

For the Sichuan Chile Oil:

1. In a sauce pot, add oil, garlic, shallots and all spices except for red chile flakes and simmer on low to medium heat for 25 minutes. (The end result should be golden brown and aromatic.)
2. Place salt and chile flakes in a heat-proof bowl; strain the hot oil through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl (the oil will toast the chile immediately). Cool completely.
3. Blend in a Vitamix until smooth; reserve.

For the Fresh Yogurt:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat milk gently over low heat until it reaches 180˚F; shut off the heat and cool until milk reaches 110˚F. 
2. Temper a small amount of milk into the yogurt starter in a small bowl before pouring back into the pot of milk. Whisk well to distribute the yogurt culture.
3. Transfer the cultured milk into glass jars, seal with a lid and keep in a warm place for 5 to 10 hours. (The longer it sits, the thicker and more sour the yogurt will be.) 
4. Once achieved desired consistency, refrigerate. 

For the Crispy Fairy Tale Eggplants:

1. In a sauce pot, heat oil to 350˚F.
2. In a bowl, mix together vinegar and salt; add the sliced eggplant and carefully toss to mix all ingredients without breaking the eggplant. Once the eggplant releases it’s liquid, gently squeeze to get rid of the moisture as much as possible. Lay out to dry on a paper towel.
3. Carefully toss eggplant in flour, and fry until golden brown and crispy.

For the Black Manti Dough:

1. In a Vitamix, blend together the whole eggs and egg whites.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt. 
3. Transfer flour mixture onto work surface and make a well in the center big enough for the egg mixture. Pour egg mixture into the well and slowly incorporate the wet and dry ingredients using a fork until a dough forms. Add water if needed, but the dough should not feel sticky.
4. Knead dough for 5 minutes; once dough has become shiny and smooth, cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from fridge and cut dough into two equal pieces; roll out one piece of dough into a thin sheet by hand or with a number 6-7 on the electric roller.
6. Lay dough on a lightly floured surface and, using a 2-inch ring cutter, cut circles out from dough. 
7. Stuff dough with eggplant filling, lightly wet the rim of the circle with water and gather three sides together and pinch them to close them up. 
8. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil; add manti and cook for 3 minutes. 
9. For assembly, ladle charred eggplant sauce onto plate. Add manti and top with yogurt, chile oil and fairy tale eggplant. Serve immediately.