Aubergine chickpea fritters, barrel-aged feta & pesto
Serves 8-10 as an appetiser
FOR THE FRITTERS
• 4 large aubergines
• 2 garlic cloves
• 200g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed • 50g gram flour, plus more if needed
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 200g feta cheese, chopped into 1cm cubes • vegetable oil, to deep-fry
• basil cress, to serve (optional)
FOR THE PESTO
• 40g pine nuts
• 80g basil leaves
• 80g Parmesan cheese, finely grated • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped • 300ml extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
To produce 400g of aubergine pulp, burn the aubergine skins over a charcoal barbecue, or the flame of a gas hob. Turn to char all sides evenly, until the aubergines start to collapse. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins and tops. Spoon the pulp into a muslin cloth, tie it to form a bag and, using string, hang it over a bowl in the fridge overnight.
The next day, put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan, cover with water and set over a high heat. Boil for 8 minutes, then drain and cool. To make the pesto, preheat the oven to 170°C. Place the pine nuts on a tray and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and spread out to cool. After about 10 minutes, add all the ingredients to a blender and pulse-blend until amalgamated but still a little coarse; be careful not to overblend the pesto. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Pulse the chickpeas coarsely in a food processor and remove. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the aubergine in the food processor with the gram flour, cayenne, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and cumin. Blend to a purée, put in a bowl and fold in the chickpeas. Season, adding lemon juice if needed.
Set up a deep-fat fryer to 190°C, or use a saucepan. Test a spoon of fritter mix in the fryer. If it disintegrates, add a little more gram flour. Fold in the feta. You can use 2 dessert spoons to shape the mixture into quenelles, but this is tricky for a novice, so don’t feel defeated if you choose to drop the mixture from a spoon instead. Deep-fry the fritters for a couple of minutes until golden and crispy. You’ll need to do this in batches. Once ready, drain on kitchen paper. Serve with the pesto and sprinkle basil cress over, if you like.