Roasted Eggplant with Anchovy and Almond Crumble

Chef Curtis Gamble invited TABLE Magazine to spend a day in his kitchen with simple recipes and springtime flavors.

We started our day together with a plate of thinly sliced cucumbers finished with kefir dressing, with shallots, crumbled feta, fresh dill, a sprinkle of Aleppo chile. Chef Gamble had our full attention with this first delicate and delicious plate. “I look for ways to be reductive,” Curtis says, explaning his keep it simple ethos. “Limiting myself to a certain ingredient or idea leads to creativity with texture, salt, fat, and acid. Allowing space and room for flavor to breath is a skill.”

We moved on to Roasted Eggplant with Anchovy Almond Crumble, shown here. As always when good food hits the table, stories were shared. “I grew up with a single mom, very food insecure, and that has had the most impact on the way I like to cook,” Curtis recounts. “Whether my mom was breading off-cuts like chicken livers in seasoned flour and frying them or pulling potatoes and spring onions from our modest garden, we would always eat humbly but well-seasoned. My first real job was as a prep cook at a big-box rib joint, and from there I never turned back. One foot in front of the other took me from culinary school to Grit and Grace, to Station.”

The Gnocchi alla Romana with Pesto Genovese arrive, along with English peas with soffrito, yogurt and lemon, and a gorgeous asparagus platter. We exclaim that we will never forget these gnocchi, with their earthy crispiness playing off of the vivid, garlicky sauce. Or any of Chef Gamble’s veggie-forward dishes.

Curtis responds, “As brutal as this pandemic is, the thing that it has really made me appreciate is the connections and the memories we facilitate for people.”

Roasted Eggplant Anchovy Almond Crumble

Eggplant

4 oz EVOO

2 tbsp miso

4 Japanese eggplants

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl combine EVOO and miso to make a bit of a paste. Peel eggplant and roll in mixture as soon as they are peeled to avoid browning. Transfer them all to a sheet tray and roast until just-roasted and not mush, roughly 45 minutes, but check in 15-minute intervals. Cool completely.

Sherry Vinaigrette

2 cups sherry wine

200 g sherry vinegar

100 g brown sugar

10 g thyme, chopped

15 g shallot, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

800 g canola oil

In a blender combine all ingredients except for oil. Blend and slowly add oil to emulsify.

Anchovy almond crumble

125 g toasted almonds, chopped

10 g dried anchovies