When aubergines are aggressively roasted or grilled, their subtle earthiness is replaced by more intense savoury, caramel and smoky notes. Yet the texture of roasted aubergine is a little odd: the skin, still full of flavour, takes some chewing (if you attack it at all), and the inside turns to watery, lumpy pulp. By far the best thing to do, in my opinion, is blitz the lot, leaving you with a silky-smooth and powerful purée. The cumin and pomegranate molasses in this recipe ramp up the flavour further; it’s intense.
Consider this next time you’re cooking lamb, hogget or mutton, venison, sea bass, monkfish or roast vegetables, although make sure any other dishes you serve alongside have some bite or crunch.
Ingredients
- 3 medium aubergines (around 300 g each)
- ½ tablespoon sunflower or vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
- ¼ lemon juice
- Sea salt and ground white pepper
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 250°C/Fan 230°C/Gas 10. Prick the aubergines and put them on a small baking or roasting tray. Rub them with the sunflower oil and roast for 40–45 minutes, until they’re sunken and a little blackened. Turn them over halfway through.
- Once cooked, cut the aubergines in half lengthways, then into rough chunks and put them in a blender or food processor, skin and all. Scrape the juices from your chopping board in too. Add the olive oils, pomegranate molasses, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper. Blitz and blend for a couple of minutes until very smooth and glossy and any black flecks of skin are obliterated. Add the lemon juice. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if needed (it’s not supposed to taste lemony, but as a seasoning it lifts it).
- You can (and probably should) make this in advance. Gently warm it in a saucepan when required. Add 1 tablespoon water or a dash more oil if you keep it warm for a while, as some liquid will evaporate. Taste and check for seasoning again before serving.