THE SUN-SOAKED PLATE...Mediterranean recipes for family and friends

One of nature’s seasonal gifts right now are plump, shiny skinned aubergines. They are one of my favourite summer ingredients as they are great at soaking up all kinds of flavours and work brilliantly in stews, tagines, curries and smoky Middle Eastern dips such as Baba ganoush. Aubergines also marry perfectly with lamb in the classic Greek dish, Moussaka, but I think that a little smoke and the flavour of the grill are what aubergine does best, so give yours some quality time over an open fire, on a barbecue, in a griddle pan or in a very hot oven. If you resist the temptation to separate them from the heat before they are totally deflated and almost burnt, you’ll be able to enjoy those silky strands of intense flavour in a multitude of exciting ways. The other day I just sliced a few aubergines, brushed them with spices and olive oil, seasoned them well with sea salt and threw them on the grill. After 2-3 minutes on each side I placed them on a large plate and scat...

“In the flames of the fire lives something that can help ingredients reach their fullest potential.” These are the words of Bittor Arguinzoniz, the chef/owner of an extraordinary restaurant, high in the hills of the Basque country. His rustic restaurant, Asador Etxebarri has revolutionised the simple art of cooking over a flame and has attained a cult-like status, Michelin stars and was recently voted number six in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.     The barbecue is now fully established as high-end food and Bittor infuses every course with smoke from the homemade goat butter to the caviar-size spring peas to the grass-fed

Sun-drenched vegetables such as peppers, courgettes and artichokes hold a very important place in Mediterranean cookery, but for me, the plump, elongated, gleaming aubergine is the most versatile of the bunch. There are many varieties of aubergines: long and round, with colours ranging from violet, black to blue and white. The Chinese were the first people to cultivate the aubergines in the fifth century; it was then introduced into Spain, Italy and from there onto southern and eastern parts of Europe. At one time, fashion conscious ladies used a black dye made from their skins to stain their teeth! The Aubergine goes under a variety of names including the eggplant, apple of love, garden egg, and guinea squash