Roast aubergine with spiced tomatoes and whipped feta

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 2 medium aubergines
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the spiced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• Pinch of chilli flakes, optional
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

For the whipped feta
• 200g feta
• 100g Greek yoghurt
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Black pepper

To finish
• Small handful mint, roughly chopped
• Small handful dill, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Get the aubergines roasting

Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Halve the aubergines lengthways and score the cut sides in a criss-cross pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through. Rub with the olive oil, season well with salt and black pepper, then place cut-side up on a lined baking tray. Roast for 30–35 minutes until soft in the middle and properly golden at the edges. Aubergine wants colour here. Pale and spongy is not doing anyone any favours.

2. Start the tomato base

While the aubergines roast, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the red onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and chilli flakes if using, then cook for another minute until everything smells as though it is heading somewhere promising.

3. Build the spiced tomatoes

Stir in the tomato purée, cook for 1 minute, then add the chopped tomatoes. Season with black pepper and a little salt, then let everything simmer gently for 12–15 minutes until thickened and rich. Stir through the parsley at the end. You want a sauce that sits nicely on the aubergine rather than running off in all directions.

4. Make the whipped feta

Put the feta, Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a good grind of black pepper into a food processor and blitz until smooth. If you do not have one, mash it together thoroughly with a fork until as smooth as you can get it. It wants to feel light, tangy and properly spoonable.

5. Bring it all together

Spread the whipped feta onto a serving platter or divide it between plates. Sit the roast aubergines on top, then spoon over the spiced tomatoes generously. Let it look abundant rather than too carefully arranged.

6. Finish and serve

Scatter over the mint and dill, then serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over at the table. Very good with warm flatbreads, couscous or a crisp green salad if you want to round things out.

A couple of helpful notes
- If your aubergines are especially large, give them a little longer in the oven rather than serving them before they have softened properly.
- The whipped feta can be made ahead and kept chilled, which makes the whole thing feel much more relaxed at serving time.
- A few toasted pine nuts or pistachios over the top would work very nicely if you want a bit more crunch.