Za’atar Aubergine Schnitzel

The perfect vegan meal if you’re a fan of aubergine and want something satisfying, fresh and flavoursome.

Done in 40 minutes

Serves 2

Dish by Mia Jacobs

Ingredients

For the aubergine shnitzel

1aubergine, sliced lengthwise

a big pinchsalt

75gplain flour

1 tspground cumin

1 tspground coriander

a pinchsalt

1/2 tspfreshly ground pepper

75mlplant based milk

100gpanko or coarse white breadcrumbs

1 heaped tbspza'atar

150mlvegetable oil

For the yoghurt sauce

200gvegan greek yoghurt

1/2 tspdried mint

1garlic clove, grated

a squeezelemon juice

to tastesalt and pepper

For the chopped salad

3mini/Persian cucumbers, finely diced

5cherry tomatoes, finely diced

1/4red onion, finely diced

10gfresh coriander, finely chopped

a squeezelemon juice

to tastesalt and pepper

To serve

1 tbsprose harissa

1 tbspolive oil

to servefresh coriander, roughly chopped

2 fresh pitta bread

This is a really easy vegan meal that can be customised. Instead of the vegan mint yoghurt, why not try it with hummus or even a red pepper dip for something a little bit fruitier, if you don't fancy a creamy sauce! The schnitzel is crisp with soft aubergine inside and is perfect when scooped onto a fork or crammed into a pita with lots of sauce and fresh salad.

Method

Place each slice of aubergine onto a large tray and salt both sides. Cover and set to one side.

Mix together all the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce, and season to taste. In another bowl, mix together the cucumber, tomatoes, onion and coriander. Season the salad then cover and place both in the fridge whilst you fry the aubergine.

By now, the aubergine should be covered in little beads of water. Rinse the salt off then thoroughly pat dry with a paper towel.

Mix the flour with the seasonings in a shallow bowl. The add the milk and breadcrumbs with za'atar into 2 other shallow bowls. One by one, place the aubergine slices first into the flour mixture, then the milk and then the seasoned breadcrumbs. Dunk back into the milk and then into the breadcrumbs for a thicker coating. Leave for 5 mins for the coating to bind to the aubergine.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, carefully shallow fry the breaded aubergine slices for a few minutes on each side, until a deep golden brown. You may have to do this in batches.

Remove the aubergine from the pan and season immediately with a pinch of salt. Serve with the yoghurt, chopped salad, a drizzle of harissa mixed with olive oil and some fluffy flatbreads or pita.

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Mia Jacobs

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Mia is a self-taught cook with an obsession with street food and an absolute hatred for parsnips. Before joining Twisted Green, Mia founded an online vegan cooking school in the midst of the global pandemic and began teaching people all over the world how to cook incredible vegan food from the comfort of their own homes. Her mission was, and still is, to help transform kitchens everywhere from a daunting space to one that’s filled with the irresistible aroma of frying garlic, and some very special plant-based grub. She also believes that crisps and hummus are a gift to humanity.