Fosh Food magazine

“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