I might be late to the party but I’ve just discovered this unbelievably light creamy caviar d’aubergine which is an excellent alternative to baba ganouch. If you like that you will love this. It’s great with roasted sourdough, or on crisp breads or with crudités with an aperitif or as a starter.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 large aubergine cut in half lengthwise

A small glug of olive oil and a bit more for later

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 shallots, halved

2 tbs chopped parsley

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice (½ a lemon)and half of its zest

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp sesame black seeds

How

Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Place the halved aubergines on a baking sheet, cut side up. Stab the flesh all over and drizzle each aubergine with the olive oil, rubbing it over the flesh, next place the unpeeled garlic and shallots on top and drizzle with a little more oil. Roast for 40 minutes, or until the flesh is soft and creamy then loosely cover in tin foil to create a tent. Leave to steam in the foil for 20 minutes.

Remove the skins from the shallots and put in a food processor Squeeze the garlic flesh out of their skins and add them to the shallots. Scoop the soft flesh out of the roasted aubergines, discard the skins and add the flesh to the food processor. Add the parsley olive oil, lemon juice, the lemon zest salt and chilli flakes. Whizz up till creamy and smooth. Allow to cool and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of sesame seeds and some finely chopped parsley.

Keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.