In his autobiography, the Australian artist John Olsen describes how he travelled to the wilds of Spain in the 1950s and was amazed by the array of Mediterranean vegetables, many of which he had never seen before.

Among them was what he called, with his artist’s eye, the “sad purple” of aubergine, the sombre-hued vegetable that also came late to British eating — there is no aubergine at all in Marguerite Patten’s Classic British Dishes, published in 1994.

Contrast that with Jill Norman’s excellent New Penguin Cookery Book, one of the best compendiums of the past ten years, with its great recipes for grilled aubergine with salmoriglio, grilled aubergine with cheese and pine nuts, moussaka and more.

It was probably a lack of understanding of how to handle aubergine that held it back. It rarely needs peeling and the modern, less bitter varieties do not require salting.

Frying is not ideal, as the flesh will soak up all the olive oil unless you simply brush the slices and fry them in a hot, dry pan. If cooking whole, baking is the best option, allowing the flesh to get soft and fragrant.

Grill an aubergine, however, and you have a wonderfully smoky, glossy-skinned treat. The flesh colours beautifully and the skin looks polished, darkening to a warm brown.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min

2 large aubergines
500g spinach leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
3 fresh mozzarella balls, sliced
8 anchovy fillets

Salsa:

400g tinned chopped tomatoes
Good slug of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, squashed
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp sugar
Good pinch of dried oregano

METHOD

Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, sugar and oregano in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring. Cook down for 10 min, stirring occasionally, until thick.

Slice each aubergine lengthwise into slices 1cm thick. Brush with olive oil, season well, and grill on both sides until browned.

Wash the spinach and steam in a covered pan with just the water on its leaves for 2 min or until just wilted. Drain well, lightly squeeze dry and toss with a little extra olive oil, pepper and salt. Top the largest aubergine slices with spinach, add a smaller slice, then the mozzarella and a criss-cross of anchovy fillets.

Place under the grill just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve with the tomato salsa.

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