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Squishy aubergine, crispy chickpea and broccoli salad

with homemade ferments

Serves 2

Something magical happens when salted aubergine is fried in plenty of oil – the aubergine at once sucks it up, creating a silken, creamy inside, while the outside of the flesh caramelises and browns, making something deeply savoury and utterly addictive. Paired with nutty roasted broccoli, cooling labneh and crispy spiced chickpeas, with an array of homemade ferments to cut through the richness of the aubergine and tahini dressing, this salad has it all. The inspiration for this dish came from one of my favourite local restaurants, The Good Egg in Stoke Newington, which specialises in Israeli food and serves ‘Sabih’ – a popular Israeli sandwich of fried aubergines and boiled eggs stuffed into pitta bread. Add boiled eggs to this to beef it up, or lose the labneh to keep it vegan.

1 large aubergine, cut into 1.5-cm slices

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1 × 400g tin chickpeas, drained

½ head of broccoli, broken into florets, including leaves

3 tbsp rapeseed, olive or vegetable oil

pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves

handful of dill fronds

handful of mint leaves

1 tsp sumac

150g Labneh (see here)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

20g preserved lemon, deseeded (shop-bought or (see here))

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp honey

1 tsp salt

1 garlic clove

½ tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin

1 tbsp good-quality tahini

To serve

1 tbsp Fermented Turnips (see here), drained

1 tbsp Pink Pickled Onions (see here), drained

1 tbsp Fermented Green Chillies (see here), drained

2 toasted pitta breads

1 Place the aubergine slices in a sieve over the sink or a bowl and scatter the sea salt all over. Leave it to sit and drain the moisture from the aubergine for about 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Dry the chickpeas with a clean tea towel and tip them into a roasting tray. Add the broccoli, broccoli leaves, 1 tablespoon of the oil, chilli flakes, smoked paprika and some salt and pepper and toss together. Roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until the chickpeas are really crispy and the broccoli is crispy at the edges but tender when cut into.

3 Meanwhile, wipe off any excess water from the aubergine with kitchen paper, then heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-based frying pan or skillet over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering hot, add the aubergine slices and fry for 4–5 minutes on each side, until nicely browned on the outside and squishy in the middle. You may need to add a little more oil as you go. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.

4 To make the dressing, put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you have a loose but emulsified dressing.

5 Toss the roasted chickpeas and broccoli in a bowl with half the fresh herbs and the sumac. Season with salt and pepper and coat with a little of the dressing. Spread the labneh over a serving platter and top with the salad, then strew the fried aubergine, remaining herbs and ferments over the top. Serve with fluffy toasted pitta and the dressing on the side.