I am feeling stupidly nostalgic this week, because it’s 10 years since I started writing my Weekend column, and next week will be my 500th in total. It began life as The New Vegetarian, and one ingredient that has been at the heart of so many of my favourite dishes, then and now, is the aubergine – in my book Plenty, my first collection of Guardian recipes, I even had one chapter called The Mighty Aubergine. (Looking back, I feel sorry for the other vegetables, whose chapters just took their name – Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Green Beans and so forth.) It seems fitting, then, that both this week’s and next week’s recipes are full of aubergines.
Over the years, I have grilled, roasted, burned, steamed, stuffed and fried them, and used them in everything from croquettes and cheesecakes to salads and soups; the aubergine’s ability to reassure and surprise me knows no end. This week’s recipes are a case in point. The paneer-stuffed aubergine reminds me of an early favourite dish in which I wrapped little balls of ricotta in long, thin strips of roast aubergine, but I am also amazed at how brilliantly the very savoury combination of aubergines and anchovies works when the vegetable is roasted. In fact, I’m now getting excited just thinking about where my aubergine adventures will take me next.
Paneer-stuffed aubergine in red lentil and coconut sauce
There are two types of paneer available: the slightly rubbery kind, which is great for making tikka kebabs, and the softer kind, which has a texture more like compressed ricotta. The latter is the one you want here; I found it at Sainsbury’s, but if you can’t get hold of it, the rubbery kind will do – just coarsely grate it first. Both the aubergine slices and lentil sauce can be prepared the day before if you want to get ahead. That way, you can just roll up the paneer and bake the dish on the day. Serves six.
3 large aubergines, stalks removed, cut lengthways into 0.5cm-thick slices
100ml groundnut oil
Salt and black pepper
6 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
5cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
40 fresh curry leaves (about 4-5 stems)
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp medium curry powder
2 tsp tomato paste
3 strips lime peel, plus the juice of 1 lime
100g red lentils
400ml coconut milk
100g large (not baby) spinach leaves, stems removed
220g paneer, broken into 2cm chunks
5g coriander, roughly chopped, to serve
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Lay out the aubergine slices on two large (30cm x 40cm) oven trays lined with baking paper. Brush with two tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Turn over the aubergine slices and repeat, then roast for 20 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown. Leave to cool.
Put two tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shallots and fry for eight minutes, until golden brown. Add the ginger, chilli and half the curry leaves, cook for two minutes, then add the spices, tomato paste, strips of lime peel and lentils. Stir for a minute, then add the coconut milk, 600ml water and half a teaspoon of salt. Turn down the heat to medium and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once in a while, until the lentils are soft and the sauce is thick. Pour into a medium (20cm x 30cm) baking dish and set aside.
Put one spinach leaf on top of each slice of aubergine. Put a piece or two of paneer in the middle, then roll up the aubergine, from the thinner end at the top down to the thicker bottom end, so the paneer is encased. Put the aubergine rolls seam-side down in the lentil sauce, and repeat with the remaining aubergine, spinach and paneer. You should end up with about 20 rolls, all sat snugly in the sauce. Press the rolls gently into the sauce, but not so far that they are submerged, then bake for 15-20 minutes, until the aubergine is golden brown on top and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes.
Heat the remaining two teaspoons of oil in a small pan on medium high flame. Add the remaining curry leaves and fry for a minute, until crisp and fragrant. Spoon over the aubergine rolls, drizzle over the lime juice and serve with coriander sprinkled on top.
Roast aubergine and tomato bake with rocket and walnut
A great side dish, or a lovely light lunch with some salad. Serves six.
40g walnut halves, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
40g rocket
25g basil leaves, plus a few extra, torn at the last minute, to garnish
40g parmesan, coarsely grated
About 100ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
4 large aubergines, cut into 0.5cm-thick rounds
8 vine tomatoes, cut into 0.5cm-thick slices
1 large ball buffalo mozzarella, cut into 0.5cm-thick slices
100ml passata
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Put the walnuts, rocket, 15g basil leaves, parmesan, three tablespoons of oil, two tablespoons of water and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz to form a coarse pesto.
Spread out the aubergine slices on two or three baking trays lined with baking paper. Put 60ml olive oil in a small bowl and brush evenly over both sides of the aubergines. Sprinkle over half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of ground pepper, then roast for 25-30 minutes, until dark golden brown all over. Remove from the oven and spread the pesto evenly over each slice. Turn down the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.
Arrange half the aubergine and pesto slices in a 20cm x 26cm baking dish, so they sit snugly in a single layer. Lay half the tomatoes on top, sprinkle with salt and a generous grind of pepper, then follow this with the slices of mozzarella and the remaining basil leaves. Lay the rest of the aubergine on top, then the remaining tomatoes. Pour over the passata, spreading it out with the back of a spoon, and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Bake for 45 minutes, until the tomatoes on top have taken on a lot of colour, leave to rest for 10 minutes and serve sprinkled with basil.
Roast aubergine with anchovies and oregano
Serves two to four.
4 medium aubergines, cut into 2cm-thick discs
Salt and black pepper
145ml olive oil
1½ tbsp oregano leaves
20g anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
5g parsley, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. In a large bowl, mix the aubergine with half a teaspoon of salt. Transfer to two large oven trays lined with baking paper and brush with 70ml oil: you want to coat both sides of the aubergine discs. Bake for 35 minutes, until dark golden brown and cooked through, then remove and set aside to cool.
Heat 45ml oil in a very small saucepan or frying pan on a high flame. Test the oil is hot enough by dropping in an oregano leaf: if it sizzles, goes crisp straight away and turns a brighter shade of green, the oil is ready (if the oil is too hot, the oregano will go dark green). When the oil is at the right temperature, add a tablespoon of oregano leaves and cook for 10 seconds, just until crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Take the pan off the heat.
In a small bowl, whisk the anchovies, vinegar, garlic, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of pepper. Slowly pour in the remaining oil, whisking continuously, until well combined.
Finely chop the remaining oregano and put it in a large bowl with the aubergine and parsley. Pour over the anchovy dressing, gently toss, then transfer the salad to a platter. Sprinkle over the fried oregano and serve.
