Smoky Eggplant Soup

We were fortunate the spring hailstorm did not destroy our eggplants. We had a bumper crop leading me to wonder if you could make soup from them as I am always looking to add variety to what I freeze for the winter months.

Thanks to @nytcooking, the answer is yes! I found a smoky eggplant soup which, despite my skepticism, became a beautiful and flavorful soup. I started by broiling the eggplants. Once they softened, I placed them into paper bags to cool. While the eggplants cooled, I sauteed the onions, garlic, cayenne, smoked paprika, and sweet paprika.

Once the eggplants were cool, I removed the skins and roughly chopped the flesh of the eggplant. It was added to the pot along with chicken broth with the other ingredients and brought to a boil. I made sure to add salt and pepper for flavor at this stage.

The only complicated part of this recipe was to puree the mixture with a @cuisinart and then strain through a fine meshed sieve. This step is worth the effort as you were rewarded with a very smooth broth that was brightened at the end with lemon juice and zest.