Baked Aubergine and Garlicky Asparagus

Oooh I love this combo. It screams SUMMER to me, so although it’s not quite let’s-go-nuts-with-aubergine season yet, I couldn’t resist an early purchase of firm eggplants and tender asparagus shoots. Aubergines are foxy. That plump pendulous roundness, smooth skin, that wonderfully rare violet hue… These two recipes are simple ways to celebrate two awesome vegetables. No frills, just subtle flavourings to let the veges shine and sing.

I’ve had a version of this recipe on a scrap of paper for well over ten years. (I have no idea where it came from, so I hope I don’t tread on any copyright toes here!) The paper-scrap also says that this recipe predates the arrival of the tomato in Italy, which is another reason why I love it so much – aubergine is so often paired with tomato, and once you take away those higher acidic notes, you can truly appreciate the subtle, moist, almost earthiness of the aubergine.

Serve these two dishes alongside new potatoes for a summery lunch or dinner.

 

For the baked aubergine:

2 medium dark purple aubergines/eggplants

1 small onion, finely chopped

3-4 Tbsp brown rice flour

3 medium or 4 small free range eggs

1 Tbsp milk of your choice (I use rice milk)

salt & pepper to taste

oil for frying

optional: handful of herbs, like parsley, oregano, basil…

optional: lemon wedges for serving

 

For the asparagus (this can easily be doubled):

1 generous handful of asparagus

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove crushed garlic

salt & pepper to taste

 

Preheat the oven to 180C and get out two baking dishes – the aubergine will need a slightly larger one than the asparagus.

Slice both the aubergines into 1cm rounds. Put the rice flour on a plate and sprinkle it liberally with salt. Dip the aubergine rounds lightly into the flour, then fry them in a little oil until they become slightly golden on each side. It will take a couple of batches, and it can become a bit smoky if you’re not careful. As each batch of rounds is cooked, layer them in the baking dish. When the aubergine is done, fry the chopped onion too and sprinkle it through the layers of cooked aubergine. Whisk the eggs together with the milk and a generous dose of salt and pepper. Add any herbs of choice if using, and pour it over the aubergine and onion mixture.

If you’re just making the aubergine dish, it takes 25 minutes to cook. But if you’re making the asparagus dish at the same time and you want them in the oven together, then pop the aubergine in to cook and set the timer for 10 minutes. During this time, prep the asparagus: break or cut off any tough woody stalk ends and put the asparagus in the smaller baking dish. Drizzle over the olive oil, crush the garlic over it, give it a hearty grind of salt and pepper and stir the lot together. Once the aubergine timer has rung at the 10 minutes mark, add the asparagus to the oven and reset the timer for another 15 minutes. Your kitchen is gonna smell awesome.