I decided that I wanted to make a dish that included aubergines for my brother’s birthday meal. I decided to look through my Sabrina Ghayour cookbooks as I do enjoy her style of cooking. I found a very easy dish in Persiana Everyday. I’ve not had pomegranette molasses for a while so I used organic date syrup. I used maple syrup and replaced salted peanuts with cashew nuts. The whole dish turned out nicely. Aubergines were soft and sweet and reminded me a little of eating fried plantain. I’m not quite sure what the nuts and spring onions added but they were not unplesant. I’m not sure what I would replace them with if I made this dish again. I think maybe the lack of the salted peanuts means that I did not have enough constrast to the sweetness of the aubergine. Maybe I just did not add enough salt. I probably missed a trick there. I also wonder if adding something with a bit of spice would provide a stronger contrast that that provided by the spring onion. My mind is thinking red chilli slices. Sweet-salty or sweet-spicy.

Serves 2–4

Ingredients

• 2 large aubergines, peeled and cut into round slices 2.5cm thick
• 3–4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 3 tbsp clear honey or maple syrup
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced diagonally from root to tip
• generous handful of salted peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• Maldon sea salt flakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan), Gas Mark 7. Line a large roasting tin with baking paper.

Brush both sides of the aubergine slices with the olive oil, arrange in a single layer in the lined tin and roast for 22 to 25 minutes until cooked through but not browned.

Mix the pomegranate molasses and honey together until evenly combined. Use a pastry brush to brush the mixture evenly over the aubergines on both sides, then sprinkle with a little salt. Roast for another five to six minutes until the glaze is thick and sticky.

Scatter with the spring onion and peanuts before serving.

Reference: Persiana Everyday, Sabrina Ghayour, page 134