Today marks my 500th column and I’m feeling rather sentimental. When I began writing for the Guardian in 2006, my main worry was running out of ideas. Now, after about 1,000 recipes, I can probably lay that particular concern to rest: I love writing recipes in general, and recipes for aubergine in particular, so forgive me for coming back to them for a second week in a row. Somehow, the inspiration just keeps on coming, as this week’s crop illustrates, be it from my home town, Jerusalem, from my new home in Britain or from farther afield in south-east Asia, where I now often look for fresh, delicious ideas.
Glazed baby aubergines stuffed with pork and tofu
Serve as a canapé or snack, or as a main course with some sticky rice. Serves six as a main, more as a snack.
1kg baby aubergines (anywhere between 20 and 50, depending on size), slashed 1-3cm deep from stalk to base
3 tbsp groundnut oil
Salt
15g dried shrimp
300g minced pork
150g silken tofu
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
10g coriander, roughly chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp fish sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
90ml mirin
2½ tbsp rice vinegar
1¼ tsp white miso
1¼ tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Toss the aubergines in a large bowl with the oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then lay cut side up on a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle over the oil from the bowl, roast for 15-25 minutes (depending on size) and leave to cool.
Put a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, then dry-fry the shrimp for two minutes, until there is a strong smell. Finely chop the shrimp, then mix in a bowl with the pork, tofu, shallot, ginger, coriander, chilli, garlic, fish sauce, a tablespoon and a half of soy and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and put in the fridge.
Pour the remaining soy sauce into a small saucepan with the mirin, rice vinegar, miso and sesame oil, bring to a boil and cook, whisking all the time, for two to three minutes, until the sauce thickens, then set aside.
Spoon the pork mixture into the slashes in each aubergine, then brush all over with half of the glaze and bake for 15 minutes, until the pork is cooked and the aubergines are totally soft. Brush any cooking liquid from the tray over the top, and drizzle over any leftover glaze. Serve warm, with chopped spring onion and sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
Smoked aubergine and almond scotch eggs
A vegetarian scotch egg? It’s not as daft an idea as it at first seems, actually. If you can’t get small eggs, use medium ones instead, but you’ll have only enough aubergine to cover seven eggs, and they’ll need 30 seconds more cooking. Makes eight (or seven).
3 large aubergines (900g)
50g ground almonds
30g whole almonds, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
5g picked thyme leaves
5g oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1½ tsp urfa chilli flakes (or half the amount regular chilli flakes)
½ tsp ground cumin
50g manchego, roughly grated
Salt
8 small (or 7 medium) eggs, plus 2 extra
75g plain flour
100g panko breadcrumbs
1½ tsp nigella seeds
1 litre sunflower oil, for frying
Put a ridged griddle pan on a high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Once the griddle is very hot, lay on the aubergines and grill for 45 minutes, turning occasionally, until charred all over and the flesh within is soft and smoked (or cook them on three open flames on the hob, in which case they’ll take only 15-20 minutes). Put the aubergines in a bowl and, once cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the black skin. Put the flesh in a colander and set aside for an hour, squeezing it three or four times, to extract as much liquid as you can: you should be left with about 100g aubergine flesh. Transfer to a large bowl.
Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. Spread out all the almonds on a small oven tray, roast for 10 minutes, until golden-brown, then add to the aubergine bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the onion for eight minutes, stirring a few times, until caramelised and soft. Add the garlic, herbs and spices, cook for another minute and add to the aubergine mix. Stir in the cheese and a third of a teaspoon salt.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then lower in eight (or seven) eggs and boil for five minutes. Plunge them into cold water, to stop the cooking, then peel carefully.
Break the remaining two eggs into a small bowl and whisk. Put the flour in a second small bowl with half a teaspoon of salt, and mix the panko and nigella seeds in a third bowl.
Divide the aubergine mix into eight (or seven) equal portions and place each one between two sheets of clingfilm. Using your hands, press down each aubergine portion into a 10-11cm diameter circle about 0.5cm thick. Peel off the top layer of clingfilm and put a peeled egg in the centre of the aubergine circle. Draw up the sides of the clingfilm under the aubergine, so the mix envelops the egg completely, then set aside and repeat with the remaining eggs. Working with one aubergine-encased egg at a time, roll it first in the flour, then dip in the egg and finally roll in the panko mix, to coat all over. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Heat the sunflower oil in a medium saucepan on a medium flame. When the oil reaches 175C, deep-fry two eggs at a time for three to four minutes, turning them halfway, until golden-brown all over. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper, and repeat with the remaining eggs.
Warm yoghurt and aubergine with fresh tomato shredded pitta crisps
This take on fetteh, a Levantine dish made with stale flatbread and various toppings, makes a hefty weekend breakfast or a light supper. Serves six.
4 aubergines, peeled lengthways in alternate strips, so it ends up covered in purple-and-white stripes, then cut widthways into 1.5-2cm rounds
120ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1½ thin pitta breads (about 100g), stale or fresh
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes)
300g natural yoghurt (around 4% fat)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tomatoes, roughly grated (discard the skins)
10g mint leaves, roughly torn
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Arrange the slices of aubergine on two or three oven trays lined with baking paper, making sure they don’t overlap. Brush both sides of each aubergine slice with olive oil (you’ll need about four tablespoons-worth for this), then sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, until the aubergines are soft and brown, then remove from the oven.
Turn down the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Split open the pitta, as you would when stuffing it, then pull apart and separate the two halves. Roll each half into a tight roll and cut into long, thin 2-3mm-wide strips. Put these in a medium bowl and mix with two tablespoons of oil, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Spread out on a small oven tray and bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown and crisp, then set aside.
Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high flame. Fry the garlic and chilli flakes for two to three minutes, until the garlic just starts to brown, then tip into a small bowl.
Pour the yoghurt into a large saute pan and put it on a medium heat. Warm through for four to five minutes, until the yoghurt starts to steam – don’t take it any further than this, otherwise it will split. Add the lemon juice, cooked aubergine slices, four tablespoons of water and a quarter-teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring gently every now and then, for five minutes, until the yoghurt just starts to thicken.
Pour the aubergine and warm yoghurt mix into a shallow serving bowl and spoon over the tomato and mint. Top with the pitta, roughly breaking up the pieces as you go, and finish with a drizzle of garlic and chilli oil. Serve at once or at room temperature.
