Yotam Ottolenghi’s aubergine with black garlic recipe

Aubergine pairs beautifully with black garlic

Roasted garlic with black pepper, garlic and herbs is a delicious dish

Yotam Ottolenghi: don't be scared of black garlic

Black garlic brownies recipe

SERVES
4

INGREDIENTS
3 medium aubergines, sliced into 1.5cm rounds (900g)
200ml olive oil
8 large or 16 small black garlic cloves (35g)
200g Greek yogurt
1½ tsp lemon juice
7 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (30g)
3 red chillies, sliced on the diagonal into 3mm rounds
5g dill leaves
5g basil leaves
5g tarragon leaves
Salt and black pepper

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 250C/480F/gas 9 (or to its highest setting).

Place the aubergine in a large bowl with 60ml of the olive oil, 1½ teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Mix well and spread out on 2 large baking trays lined with greaseproof paper. Roast in the oven until golden-brown and completely soft – about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Place the black garlic cloves in the small bowl of a food processor with a third of a teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of yogurt and the lemon juice. Blitz for a minute, to form a rough paste, and then transfer to a medium bowl. Mix through the rest of the yogurt and keep in the fridge until needed.

Heat the remaining 110ml of oil in a small saucepan on a high heat. Add the garlic and chilli slices, reduce the heat to medium and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the garlic is golden-brown and the chilli is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic and chilli on to a kitchen paper-lined plate.

Arrange the aubergine slices, overlapping, on a platter. Spoon the yogurt sauce on top, sprinkle over the chilli and garlic and finish with the herbs.