Griddled Aubergine with Feta, Herbs and Lemon Garlic Drizzle

In Spain it is a 'berenjena'. In America, an eggplant. In Britain and France, where I come from, it's an aubergine. Whatever you call it, it is one of the great vegetables of the Mediterranean — and in Andalucía it turns up everywhere, from village bar tapas to kitchen gardens spilling over with the things in high summer.

The tapa you will find in the bars around here is berenjenas con miel — aubergine sliced, battered, deep fried, and finished with a drizzle of dark cane honey. It is a perfect combination, sweet against savoury, crisp against soft. If you ever find yourself in a village bar in this part of Spain, order it.

My version is different. Lighter, fresher, better suited to eating outside in the heat. I griddle the aubergine on the plancha or in a ridged griddle pan for those charred lines that do something very good to the flavour. Then feta, ripe tomato, red onion, fresh herbs, and a lemon and garlic drizzle that needs five minutes to sit and marry before you spoon it over.

In the early days at Casa Adora, I had two guests — British women, both formidably successful, one running a wedding venue at a mansion in North Yorkshire and the other the CEO of a theme park in the North East of England. They were on an Andalucían road trip and stopped at Casa Adora for a few days. We ate berenjenas con miel in the village bar one evening. The next day I cooked this on the terrace. They loved it. We followed it with gin. It was a good few days.

Ingredients for Griddled Aubergine with Feta

(serves 2)

• 1 large aubergine, sliced into rounds
• 100g feta, cut into small cubes
• 1 ripe tomato, roughly chopped
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• A few fresh mint leaves, chopped
• A few fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• Olive oil for griddling
• Salt and black pepper

Method

Heat your plancha or griddle pan until properly hot. Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil, season, and griddle in batches until tender with good char lines on both sides. Set aside on a serving plate.

Mix the chopped garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil together and leave for five minutes to let the flavours marry.

Scatter the tomato, red onion and feta over the griddled aubergine. Spoon over the lemon and garlic drizzle. Finish with the chopped parsley, mint and basil.

Eat outside if at all possible.

If you like your veg griddled and simply dressed, my Wild Asparagus with Parmesan Shavings and Balsamic Vinegar follows much the same idea — hot griddle, good cheese, a decent drizzle, eaten outside.
This griddled aubergine with feta is part of my Veg, Fruit & Pulses collection.
It also features in my Cheese Recipes collection — from Welsh rarebit to baked camembert, halloumi, feta and beyond.
Wonky photos, proper produce, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef