Sweetman’s Aromatic Aubergine Accompaniment

Sweetman’s Aromatic Aubergine Accompaniment

A dish that lets the finest Flourish summer stars sing. I like to eat this dish with roasted lamb cutlets and parmentier potatoes or serve with some olive focaccia.

Ingredients
4 Listada di Gandia Aubergine
150ml extra virgin olive oil
1 whole bulb garlic
Half clove garlic
1 lemon
Whole bunch mint
Whole bunch Genovese basil

Preheat oven to 170°C. Cut the aubergines in half. Score them diagonally both ways multiple times, you want about 1cm between scores. The scores need to be deep but be careful not to pierce the skin. Lay on a baking tray and pour the extra virgin olive oil into the scores. Pour slowly and pull apart the sections on your aubergine so that the oil fills up the gaps and it is evenly distributed.

Cut a small amount off the top of your bulb of garlic and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Only cut enough for the oil to get into the bulb, but not to waste too much garlic. Wrap the garlic bulb in a double layer of foil and place on the baking tray.

Put in the oven and roast for an hour. You want the aubergine to be very dark around the edges, and a deep brown on top. Don't worry, the flesh will still be soft underneath.

Meanwhile, mince the raw garlic clove until it is a paste. Squeeze the juice of a whole lemon onto the garlic and add a pinch of sea salt. This will help to mellow the garlic. Set aside.

Chop the mint leaves until fine and cut the basil into thin ribbons.

Remove aubergines from the oven and allow to cool to a temperature you can handle. Squeeze the garlic bulb in the foil and it should be soft to the touch. If not, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Again, allow to cool in the foil.

Once the aubergine is cool, use a spoon to scrape the flesh out onto a chopping board. You want to get as much flesh out as possible and make sure you get the crispy bits around the edge as they will be packed with flavour. Be careful not to include too much skin as it will make the dish bitter. Roughly chop the flesh and add to a bowl. It should be nice and oily.

Take the garlic out of the foil and squeeze the bulb over a chopping board. The garlic will be golden and soft. Roughly chop and add to the bowl.

Add in your garlic and lemon mixture and your fresh herbs to the aubergine. Season to taste with Sally sea salt and Peter pepper and mix well.