Lanzarote’s aubergines are marvellous, always fresh, plump and a deep purple that is almost black. At markets you may also find white ones, which will immediately make you understand why Americans call them eggplants, and Chinese supermarkets stock long snake aubergines. They’re one of the cheapest vegetables on offer, and it’s worth making the most of them.
Many recipes call for salting aubergines to remove the bitterness, but nowadays you’ll rarely find a bitter aubergine. Salting is only helpful for extracting some of the moisture from the vegetables and preventing them from absorbing too much oil.
This is a delicious, once-tasted-never-forgotten tapas dish or starter from Andalusia. In the Canaries, it’s often served with cane syrup (miel de caña) rather than honey.
INGREDIENTS
• 3 large aubergines
• 100 g Flour
• 1 tbspn coarse sea salt
• Salt & pepper
• 50 mls liquid honey or cane syrup.
• Olive oil (a lighter variety is better than extra virgin)
• Soy sauce (optional)
METHOD
Cut the aubergines into rods the same size as British chips (if you like, you can slice them into large coins around 2 cms thick instead). Immediately place in bowl of cold water with a good teaspoon of sea salt and leave for 30 minutes.
Remove the aubergine pieces and pat dry with a tea towel or kitchen paper. Heat 2 cms of olive oil to 176- 190°C in a pan (until a small piece of bread bubbles and browns). Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season, then dip each aubergine piece in until covered. Fry and turn the aubergine pieces until golden brown.
Drizzle honey or cane syrup over the fried aubergines before serving.
CHEF’S TIP
Olive oil is expensive, so use a smaller pan and fry the aubergines in smaller batches, keeping them warm in the oven.
A little soy sauce added to the honey before drizzling adds a delicious savoury touch.
