Papeton D’aubergines

Papeton, an eggplant mold, is a specialty of Avignon in Provence, where the Catholic popes, exiled from Rome, ruled Christendom in the fourteenth century. The origins of the name are obscure, but I like to think that the glistening purple mold, rising high on the platter, echoes the shape of a papal tiara. The skins of the eggplant are used to line the mold, then filled with a zesty spiced mixture of goat cheese, yogurt, garlic, and tomato concassé. Papeton is versatile, good served warm or