Berenjenas con miel

Fried aubergine with honey

I am sure you´ll love this one. In Cordoba and Malaga, southern Spain, this is a classic and whenever I’ve put it on one of my restaurant menus, everyone has loved it.

SERVES 2 as a tapas

Ingredients

1 aubergine

2 tbsp honey

30g muscovado sugar

1 strip of lemon zest

1 dried chilli

1 sprig of thyme

fresh coriander

1 egg

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 tsp salt

400ml (1¾ CUPS) SUNFLOWER OIL, FOR DEEP FRYING

Method

Peel a small amount of zest from the lemon and add to a small pan with the fresh time and chilli along with the muscovado sugar, honey and a splash of water. Place over a low heat for around 5 minutes. It doesn’t need cooking, just melting. Once melted, set aside for all the flavours to infuse.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a tall-sided pan over a medium-high heat until a cube of day-old bread dropped into the oil turns golden in about 30 seconds. The oil should not be too hot or smoking.

Cut the aubergine into batons as if they were fat-cut chips – each equally finger sized.

In small batches, coat the aubergine batons on the beaten egg, then place into the breadcrumbs and fully coat.

Deep-fry in batches, perhaps 3 or 4 batons at a time, until they have a nice golden colour, and then drain on kitchen paper.

Serve the aubergine batons with a good drizzle of the muscovado honey over the top and garnish with fresh coriander.

Deep fried, crisp and syrupy, these sweet and savory fried aubergine pieces are ideal for a tapas night at home.