Pigeon Cottage Kitchen

No summer table of sharing dishes is complete for me without some lovely Mediterranean dips to served with warm flatbreads and bowls of olives. My favourites are the holy trinity of hummus (made with chickpeas or butterbeans), tzatziki (cucumber, mint and Greek yoghurt)and babaganoush (aubergine and tahini sesame paste). You can cook the aubergine on the BBQ or in the oven. Either way is delicious and be sure to use decent quality tahini. Scale up the quantities depending on how many people you’re feeding; this is enough for 6 people if you’re serving several other sharing plates.

• 1 large aubergine
• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsps tahini
• Salt and black pepper

To make…

• First cook the aubergine. Prick the skin all over a few times and either bake on a metal tray in the oven for 30 minutes at 200C, or put it on a really hot BBQ grill, turning occasionally. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
• Once cool, slice it in half from the tip to the bottom and scoop out the cooked flesh inside onto a plate and discard the outer skin. Chop the flesh roughly and tip it into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Taste and balance the flavour to how you like it, add a little more or less lemon or tahini.
• Decant into a serving dish, drizzle with a little extra oil. I like to dust it with a little roasted cumin powder and mild Aleppo pepper flakes.
• Serve with warm pitta bread.

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