summer | Iaia's kitchen

Llescat, which means “in pieces” is also known as esgarraet, which means “torn” and that is because you literally tear oven-roasted aubergine, peppers, onion and tomato into pieces to make this fruity, garlicky summer supper dish. It’s may seem a bit fiddly to get the skin off everything, but as long as your oven is hot enough, it shouldn’t be a problem. Careful when you open up the peppers – the steam inside burns!

What you need:
2 aubergines (eggplants)
2 greenish-red peppers
2 onions
4 prune tomatoes
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
best quality, fruity olive oil
salt

What you do:
First of all, put your oven at about 220ºC and give it time to heat up. While it is doing so, wash and dry the aubergines, peppers and tomatoes. Peel the onions and chop them in half. They take longer to cook than the other veggies, so you will also need to wrap the halves in a bit of foil. That way, the steam they create is trapped and helps them cook through in time. Put the other veggies in a baking tray and use your hands to rub olive oil over them until they glisten. Add the foil-wrapped onions to the tray and pop them into the hot oven for about 45 minutes, turning everything over about halfway through. Charring is good for flavour, but you don’t want anything to burn dry.Once cooked, place the aubergines, peppers and tomatoes into a deep bowl and cover with plastic film to cool for a bit. Leave the onions as they are to keep steaming in their foil. After about a quarter of an hour, gingerly pull the veg out and peel the skin off – it should come away very easily. Drain any excess liquid off, and then use your fingers to tear the flesh into thin strips. Unwrap your onions and tear them up as well. Season with salt and very finely chopped (or crushed) raw garlic to taste. Pour a generous dressing of olive oil over everything and then mix gently with tongs or a fork. It’s best to let the flavours soak into each other, so we usually prepare this the day before it’s to be eaten. It’s fine to store it in the fridge, but worth taking it out and letting it come to room temperature before forking it onto thick chunks of crusty baguette and devouring.Serve with: a summer spread of ensaladilla, beer-battered aubergines, sardines…and heaps of excellent bread

Our little vegetable garden is now producing a crop of these beautiful, shiny, purple-black aubergines.
This evening I made one of Iaia’s best summer supper-table dishes, dark-rimmed eggplant slices in crisp beer batter. They’re great hot or cool, and very easy to cook. Two medium-sized aubergines make enough for a platter of about 20 slices.

What you need:
Aubergine (eggplant)
A glass of very cold beer
Plain flour (or tempura flour if you wish)
Salt
Oil for frying (I use olive for flavour)

What you do:
Slice and salt the aubergines, leaving them to leech out their excesses for about half an hour. Pat dry and set aside. Pop a couple of centimetres of oil into a wide, deep frying pan and start heating it up so that it is perfectly hot by the time you have battered.

Pour your glass of beer into a bowl and add the flour and a healthy pinch of salt, mixing it all to a gently fizzing, thick, paint-like texture. Make sure you don’t add too much flour at a go, or you will have to add a whole litre of beer, and then there will be a veritable bog of batter left over. Yes. I speak from experience.

Your oil should be pretty warm by now –
drop a tiny bit of batter in, and if it sizzles satisfactorily, you are ready to go. I use tongs to dip the aubergine slices into the batter and coat them well. Drain off a little mixture before transferring to the hot oil. Cook for two to three minutes, depending on how thickly you sliced the fruit, then flip over with care and give them another minute or two. Remove to a paper-clad plate for draining and continue until all of the eggplant is beautifully battered and fried.

Serve with: Beer and whatever else is on your supper table – ensaladilla rusa, sardines, esgarraet…

Iaia's kitchen

Traditional recipes from my Valencia mother-in-law

Category Archives: summer

Llescat – another summer table dish to share

Beer-battered aubergine