How to Cook Aubergine

You may by now have gathered that I am partial to the odd aubergine. I like them best beefing up a curry, where they lend a buttery texture and subtle yet meaty flavour.

The problem is that if you just chuck them in, raw, they absorb all the liquid from your sauce and and end up watery and soggy. They need a good frying off first. Most recipes will tell you put 'fry the aubergine slices in a little oil, in batches'. This is OK, but you'll find that you get through A LOT of oil, because they'll soak it up like a sponge. My method ensures that they fry properly without becoming greasy.

Don't bother faffing around with salt - it's a waste of time and precious sodium chloride. First, chop up your fruits. I like wedgy sticks, but discs also work fine. You are aiming for about 1/2 cm thickness, if you want to be picky (which generally I don't). Try to make sure that every piece includes some lovely purple skin - this will help to hold it together. Decant a little oil into small bowl or plate. Using a pastry brush, daub each piece with some oil. It doesn't need to be thick or exact, and the skin will be fine without.

Now fry the coated morsels over a medium-high heat, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan. You won't need to add oil. You're looking for a decent bit of colour on each large surface - as when you cook a steak, it's the blackened, almost caramelised bits which taste really good. When they're done, the flesh will be almost translucent, the purple skins wrinkled. It doesn't matter if they're not quite cooked through if they're going to cook further in your sauce.

They are now ready to add a sauce, where they will happily simmmer away for ten minutes of so without disintegrating.