Currabinny Cooks: The perfect way to prepare aubergine for multitude of dishes 

Plus some dishes inspired by our trip to the States

The perfect way to prepare aubergine.

We were recently on a bi-coastal visit of the United States, visiting Northern California first and then stopping off in New York for a few days before coming home. On our final morning in New York, we ventured out to Williamsburg in Brooklyn for a sunny stroll, hoping to find a place for breakfast along the way. We usually organise where we will eat all of our meals well in advance but as it was our last morning, we decided to wing it and I am so glad we did. 

On the corner of a quiet street, we stumbled across a gorgeous looking deli called Edith’s, with large windows where the sun was streaming in. There were no other customers inside, so we sat in a large window seat and were given a small menu. The names of the dishes were all pretty unfamiliar to us, so the waiter gave us a lowdown on the food which all had its traditions in various immigrant Jewish communities. We ordered a traditional Yemenite Jewish breakfast which consisted, simply, of a flaky type of flatbread called malawach served with jammy eggs, spicy green zhug, a grated tomato sauce, labneh and some harissa.

I can honestly say that I have had few meals I have enjoyed more, sitting in the golden morning light, devouring flaky pieces of buttery flatbread loaded with all of the delicious toppings and sipping on strong coffee.

Ever since I have been home, I have been trying my best to recreate this transformative meal. The dough for the malawach is surprisingly easy to prepare if you follow the steps closely and allow time for it to chill. If you are put off by the idea of making your own bread I would urge you to try this one. I myself was initially put off. Having previously gone through the labour of making puff pastry from scratch, I presumed this bread was made in a similarly arduous fashion. It achieves a perfectly croissant-like texture through far simpler means using soft butter and plenty of folding and stretching. It all comes together quite quickly, but do chill the dough before rolling out and frying.

Malawach

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

The dough for the malawach is surprisingly easy to prepare if you follow the steps closely and allow time for it to chill.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 3 hours 0 mins

Cooking Time

 3 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 3 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Yemenite Jewish

Ingredients

• 450g plain flour

• 150g 00 flour

• 50g granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp ground sea salt

• 240ml of warm water

• 120g (roughly) softened butter

• 2 organic eggs, boiled and peeled

Method

1. Sift the flours into a large mixing bowl along with the sugar and salt. Whisk it around to evenly distribute the different components.

2. Create a well in the centre and slowly pour in the warm water while mixing everything together with your free hand until you form a rough dough. Start by kneading it in the bowl, until you get a compact, rough ball of dough. Transfer to a clean work surface and knead, vigorously for around 5 minutes until smooth. You won’t need any extra flour as the dough should be firm and elastic enough not to stick.

3. Once you have a relatively smooth dough, form it into a ball and cover it in a clean tea towel. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, uncover and using a large sharp knife divide the dough into eight equal parts and roll each of these parts into a ball and then flatten them out into thick discs.

5. On a clean work surface, rub around 1 tablespoon of soft butter on the countertop and place a disc of dough on top.

6. Roll the dough over the butter until you get an 8 inch round. Take another tablespoon of butter and rub it across the surface of the round and then use your fingers or the rolling pin to push the dough into a large very thin rectangle. Don’t worry if tears happen.

7. Start folding or rolling the dough over in small 1cm increments until you get a long rope.

8. Tie this rope in as many knots as it takes to form small balls with the ends tucked in. Repeat until you have eight knotted balls of butter layered dough.

9. Place on a parchment-lined baking tray, cover the dough balls and put in the fridge for around 2 hours until thoroughly chilled. When ready to use, take a ball from the fridge and roll out as thin as possible into a round on a clean work surface. Heat a small knob of butter on a hot frying pan and fry the flatbread for around 2 or 3 minutes each side until golden and crispy.

10. Serve with jammy eggs, zhug and resek.

Zhug

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This addictively zingy and spicy sauce is a staple in Yemeni and Israeli food.

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Side

Cuisine

 Yemeni/ Israeli

Ingredients

• 2 cardamom pods, seeds only

• 8-10 black peppercorns

• 1 heaped tsp coriander seeds

• ½ tsp cumin seeds

• 3 small green chillis, seeds removed, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• Big handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

• Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Good pinch of sea salt

• 150ml of extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Toast the spices (cardamom seeds, peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds) on a large dry frying pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan often until toasted and fragrant. Be careful not to burn the spices.

2. Tip the toasted spices into a large pestle and mortar and grind into a fine spice mix. Add the green chillis and garlic to the mortar and bash together with the spices into a paste. Stir in the lemon juice and fresh chopped herbs.

3. Season with a good pinch of salt and then drizzle in the oil while stirring until you have a nice runny sauce.

Aubergine and Tomato

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a delicious and quick way of preparing aubergine which can be used in a multitude of different ways. This goes great with the malawach, on rice, with noodles or just on its own as a quick lunch.

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Side

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine, cubed

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 3 semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

• 3 medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped

• 1 green chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped

• 1 tsp tomato paste

• Good pinch of sugar

• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pour a good glug of olive oil on a hot frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chilli first with a pinch of salt. Fry for a minute before adding the aubergine cubes.

2. Cook the onion, chilli and aubergine together in the hot oil for a further 5 minutes, moving everything around the pan. Add another pinch or two of salt along with the garlic and a few crack of black pepper.

3. Next, add the skinned chopped tomatoes along with the chopped semi-dried ones.

4. Add the pinch of sugar as the tomatoes break down into a sauce.

5. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 or 6 minutes. You want the aubergine pieces to be nice and soft and smother in a thick spicy tomato sauce.