Serves: 4-6 - Time:
Or smoky aubergine purée. There are countless recipes for this Middle Eastern dish and I’m not sure if this one is totally authentic but it is how I like to eat it. The most important thing is to thoroughly blacken the aubergine skins and cook them until they are almost mush in the centre. If you have a working barbecue fired up and ready to go, by all means stick the aubergines on the grill and cook them this way. April in Scotland means it’s the domestic grill for me. Serve as a dip or spread or serve as an accompaniment to barbecued lamb.
Ingredients
- 900g aubergines, (2 large or 3 medium)
- 40g tahini paste
- 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt (full fat or 0%-whatever you have)
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves, plus extra for serving
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
Method
- Heat the grill to the highest setting. Pierce the aubergines and place on a grill pan lined with foil. Grill for 20-25 minutes until the top side is wrinkled and charred. Turn over and continue to grill for a further 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool then split lengthways and scoop the flesh into a sieve. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Place the aubergine flesh in a mixing bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste and season with salt and ground black pepper. Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with a little more mint and a drizzle of oil.
