Grilled Aubergines
Aubergine slices brushed with garlic oil and grilled in a cast iron pan until charred, soft and tender. The yogurt and dill sauce alongside is cool, sharp and pairs beautifully. Good as a starter or as a side, or even straight off the grill!
Ingredients
For the aubergines
- 2 aubergines
- 6 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- salt and black pepper
- 3 sprigs coriander
For the yogurt and dill sauce
- 200 gr Greek yogurt full-fat
- 1 cloves garlic
- 1 handful dill fresh
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
1. Salt the aubergines
- Slice the aubergines lengthways into even slices about 1cm thick. Lay them out, sprinkle both sides with salt, and leave for 15 minutes to draw out excess moisture. Pat dry with kitchen paper before grilling.
2. Make the garlic oil
- Mix the finely chopped garlic into the olive oil with salt and pepper. This is what you brush onto the slices.
3. Make the yogurt and dill sauce
- Mix the Greek yogurt, crushed garlic, dill, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Season, and keep in the fridge until serving. Better made ahead.
4. Fry the garlic chips
- Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Fry the sliced garlic, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and just crisp. Watch closely, they burn fast. Lift onto kitchen paper; they crisp further as they cool.
5. Grill the aubergines
- Heat the cast iron grill pan over high heat until properly hot. Brush the slices generously with garlic oil on both sides. Grill in batches, without crowding, for 3 to 4 minutes per side until well charred and completely tender. Keep cooked slices warm, brushing each batch with a little more garlic oil as it comes off.
6. Serve
- Arrange on a platter. Scatter over the garlic chips and coriander, and serve the yogurt and dill sauce alongside.
Notes
- Don't skip the salting step. It makes a real difference to the texture, stopping the aubergines from going soggy on the grill.
- The pan needs to be properly hot before the aubergines go in. If it's not hot enough, they steam instead of char and you lose the whole point of the cast iron.
- Cook in batches. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and you end up with pale, soft slices instead of properly charred ones.
- Full-fat Greek yogurt is important for the sauce. Low-fat versions are too watery and the sauce won't have enough body.
- The sauce keeps well in the fridge for a day or two, so it's worth making it ahead.