Aubergine Gelato & Courgette Flower: A Happy Mistake That Became a Masterpiece
In the world of vegan gastronomy, nothing is set in stone. Everything is in motion—fluid, experimental, alive. With no centuries-old canon to follow, we are free to invent, develop, research, and most importantly, to play. This is what makes plant-based cuisine so thrilling. One day you might find sweet, vinegared courgette ribbons paired with strawberries as a starter; another day, you’ll taste slow-roasted peaches next to charred cauliflower. This is the beauty of vegan cuisine: it’s not just a style of cooking—it’s an unexplored planet. Every day is a new discovery.
One of our proudest discoveries this summer came from a happy accident involving the humble aubergine. At Studio Gauthier, we often use aubergine pulp as a base for mousses or layered cakes—it’s silky, rich, and endlessly adaptable. But we had never considered making an ice cream from it.
That changed thanks to a delightful mistake by Alexia (my right hand vegan genius), who was preparing her beloved spiced aubergine stew—the one she serves as a starter and the one everyone is obsessed with. In the middle of prep, she accidentally added sugar instead of salt. She knew something was off the moment she tasted it. But instead of discarding the batch, she leaned into the unexpected: she blended the whole preparation into a smooth, creamy paste and froze it overnight.
The next day, we passed the mixture through our ice cream machine—and what came out surprised us all. It was smooth, deeply aromatic, and wonderfully complex. The natural richness of the aubergine combined with the subtle warmth of the spices created something entirely new: a dessert with the soul of a savoury dish and the charm of a gelato. No cream, of course—just pure plant alchemy.
We knew we had to build a dish around it. We started with a base of tangy red fruit compote to bring contrast and brightness. Then we topped it with a delicate salad of courgette flowers, lightly dressed with olive oil and cracked black pepper. The result? Summer on a plate. Sunlight in a spoonful. A dish that felt both completely unexpected and entirely inevitable.
This, to us, is the future of gastronomy—bold, accidental, and absolutely delicious.
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