Aubergine

When I was a child I could not stand aubergines. They were slimy and soft and horrible and insipid and just the worst. I couldn’t understand them. Super hard skin on the outside and then all weird and slimy on the inside. I hated them so much I think my mother just refrained from ever cooking them to prevent me from vomiting all over the table (thanks mama love you). But all that changed when I was in my late 20s and went for a cooking class with my chump husband and the legendary Ottolenghi. I love Ottolenghi. Maybe one day I will write a book about how much I love him and how much Plenty and Plenty More have changed my perception of vegetables. How I have crafted dinner parties around my favourite dishes from Jerusalem. But anyway back to aubergines. Ottolenghi changed my life with aubergines and now I can’t live without them. They are my favourite vegetable and I eat them at least twice a week. A good baingain bhartha is hard to beat. But roast aubergines – the way Ottolenghi taught me? Simply the best. But I think I have found a new way to adore aubergines. I have long had my eye on Meera Sodha’s cookbooks but have resisted buying them because I have millions of cookbooks lying around my house. But also because maybe just maybe I am a little bit jealous of Meera. I mean her background is exactly mine. Gujarati and Ugandan. But I have long followed her Guardian column and have tried a few of her recipes in the past (salted miso brownies that I still dream about) and they have all been excellent so I think I just need to get over it and deal with the fact that she is incredibly talented. Anyway back to aubergines. She has this fabulous recipe for stuffed baby aubergines. You guys. Game changer. I’m not going to put the recipe here because you can easily find it should you wish. But make the aubergines. Even if you think you don’t like aubergines. Eat these beautiful little aubergines and remember you CAN make it at home. All you need is one small aubergine.