Aubergine — three different ways to cook them
Aubergines are an interesting vegetable (they are actually fruits, botanically speaking). They are certainly unique in their flavour, texture and appearance. Throughout my life I have fallen in and out of love with them. I am currently totally in love with them, which usually happens in the Summer. I don’t recall ever eating them in the winter even though, like everything else, they are available all year round. I really wouldn’t want it during the winter months. The different things that go with aubergine, in my mind, are so set in stone and all fall within the realm of Summer eating. Herbs such as basil and marjoram, light creamy cheeses like mozzarella or a smooth goats cheese and the flavours of garlic, lemon and chilli all bring aubergine to life on a plate. Aubergines are almost like sponges for soaking up flavours.
Aubergines are usually in season between May and October which gives you plenty of time to play around with different ways of cooking with them. There are indeed limitless ways of cooking with Aubergine but make sure that you cook them until the flesh is meltingly tender. Just because aubergines are versatile does not mean they don’t require a certain finesse when handling them. Handled badly and the aubergine becomes flabby, tasteless and downright unpleasant to eat.
Look for aubergines that are firm to touch, have shiny skin and no brown spots. You can find a large variety these days in farmers markets and good groceries. I have recently taken to buying the small thin varieties from Asian markets, which are perfect for easy grilling. Aubergines surprisingly come from the Middle East and China and feature predominantly in both cuisines, although we probably associate them more with the Mediterranean.
These recipes are all very simple and show three different ways of cooking aubergine. In each recipe, always err on the side of overcooking instead of undercooking. It will rarely do an aubergine any harm to leave it in the oven or under a grill a little longer than planned.
We like to make this at home as a light snack of sorts for watching TV. Grilling aubergine can seem like it can take forever to achieve the required silky smooth flesh. The aubergines also need to be able to hold their shape and not fall apart. Starting the aubergine off on a very hot pan and allowing it to char slightly with give you that wonderful smokey taste you get from a griddle. Once the aubergines are nicely charred, I like to turn down the heat to medium, add a little butter and fry them gently until very soft on the inside but still good and firm on the outside.
- 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and washed
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- Sea salt & black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3-4 baby aubergine, cut in half
- 150ml extra virgin olive oil
- 50g butter
- 150g yoghurt
- Small tin of good quality harissa
- A few sprigs of thyme
Make the hummus first by blitzing together the chickpeas, 2 cloves of garlic crushed, juice of 1 lemon, 4 tablespoons of tahini, 100ml of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander until smooth. Season well with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Season the yoghurt with sea salt and black pepper and stir in the remaining clove of garlic, crushed along with the remaining 50ml of oil. You can also add a little lemon juice. The consistency should be like a thick dressing.
Brush the aubergine halves generously with olive oil and cook on a very hot griddle, grill pan or if you must, a frying pan. You want the oil to smoke and the aubergine to char. I like to add a knob of butter, just to help soften the aubergine. Turn the heat down to medium after you get those nice charred lines on the aubergine. Cooking the aubergine properly can take a little while, you want it nice and gooey on the inside, while still having a firm shell.
Spread some hummus on a serving plate, drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil and place the aubergine halves on top of the hummus. Drizzle the garlic yoghurt over the aubergine and serve with some harissa on the side.
This is a classic way of enjoying aubergine. If you are feeling lazy (which we often are), you could even use good shop-bought pesto instead of bashing your own basil leaves. Either way there really is not much to do or say about this dish other than that it is delicious and easy to make.
- 1 large aubergine, cut into medium thick slices
- Handful of basil
- 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, cut into slices
- Good olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
In a pestle and mortar, bash the basil with around 150ml of extra virgin olive oil and season lightly with sea salt. Set aside.
Rub each slice of aubergine with olive oil and season lightly with sea salt and black pepper. Turn on the grill on your oven and place the slices underneath on a baking sheet. Grill for around 10 minutes. You can place the aubergine lower down away from the grill if it looks like the aubergine might be burning or charring too much. For the last 2-3 minutes place a slice of mozzarella on each aubergine slice and place back under the grill. You want the mozzarella to be melted nicely, even turning slightly golden in places. Arrange on a plate and drizzle over the bashed basil and olive oil.
This recipe is all about timing really. You want each component to cook perfectly. The aubergine needs the most amount of cooking time because you want it as soft and silky as possible. The aubergine flesh should be absolutely melt-in-the-mouth to the point where if you mixed the ingredients around the pan, everything would just sort of fall apart in an unctuous mess of beautiful velvety aubergine, thick creamy sauce and gooey cheese.
- 750g aubergine
- 2 red onions, sliced thinly
- 300ml double cream
- 130ml milk
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- Small handful of oregano
- 2 medium red chilli, slice thinly
- 150g parmesan, grated
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 250C.
Slice the aubergines into sort of thick-cut chip-like shapes and arrange in a large casserole. Drizzle generously with good olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Place in the preheated oven for around 10-15 minutes until the aubergines have softened. Add the red onions, chillies and garlic to the casserole dish along with the juice of 1 lemon, drizzled over. Bake for a further 10 minutes.
While the veg is cooking in the oven, bring the milk and cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and add most of the parmesan, reserving a little for the top. Pour this into the casserole, season generously with sea salt and black pepper. Add the fresh oregano leaves and sprinkle the grated parmesan on top. Bake in the oven for a final 5-10 minutes or until the cheese on top is turning golden and the cream is bubbling.
Serve straight out of the oven.
