This no waste recipe uses the whole aubergine in 2 ways. Crispy sesame crusted rings of aubergine on yoghurt or hummus with a kind of sticky aubergine sauce made with fried with shallots, garlic, baharat and harissa.
Peel the aubergine and slice into discs around 1-2cm thick. Cut out a circle in the centre leaving a ring of aubergine around 1 cm thick. Repeat until you've used the whole aubergine. Save the cutout aubergine middles for later.
Put the plain flour in one bowl, milk in the next and a mix of the panko and sesame in the last. Season each bowl with a pinch of salt and crack of black pepper. Dunk each ring into the flour then the milk then the breadcrumbs and sesame, pressing them in to ensure the whole thing is thoroughly coated. Set the coated aubergine rings on a plate to one side.
Roughly chop the leftover aubergine pieces from earlier into small pieces. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat then add the diced shallots and aubergine. Fry for around 7-8 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, baharat, harissa and tomato paste and stir to combine. Fry for another 3-4 minutes then add the sugar and water.
Stir everything together and simmer until the aubergines are completely soft. Once the aubergines are soft, break them down with the back of a spoon and season to taste.
Meanwhile heat a medium frying pan with the vegetable oil. Once hot, carefully drop in the aubergine rings and fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden and crisp. If they brown too quickly, turn the heat down to ensure the inside cooks and the outside remains evenly golden.
Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
Smooth some hummus or yoghurt onto a plate, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, add dollops of the harissa aubergine on top then pile on the crispy aubergines. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, some fresh thyme and a big pinch of sumac.
