Black Garlic Eggplant

Ingredients

3 medium aubergines, sliced widthways into 1.5cm rounds (900g)

200ml olive oil

8 large or 16 small BLACK GARLIC CLOVES (35g)

200g Greek yoghurt

1½ tsp lemon juice

7 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced (30g)

3 red chillies, stalks removed and sliced on the diagonal into 3mm rounds (or red chile flake)

salt and black pepper

Directions

METHOD

1Preheat the oven to 400.

2Place thick sliced aubergine in a large bowl with 60ml of the olive oil, 1½ teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper.

3Mix well and spread out on 2 large baking trays lined with greaseproof paper. Roast in the oven until golden-brown and completely soft – about 20minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

4Place 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.

5Heat 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.

6Arrange the aubergine slices, overlapping, on a platter. Spoon the yogurt sauce on top, sprinkle over the chilli and garlic.