Brinjal, Garlic and Sweet Red Pepper Paté

Serve this Italian-style chunky, garlicky paté of smoky brinjal and peppers on a bed of salad leaves, accompanied with crisp toast or savoury biscuits. Baking the ingredients gives this pate a wonderful smoky flavour. Use orange, yellow or green peppers in place of the red ones if you aren’t wanting too strong a pepper flavour. If you prefer a totally smooth pate, instead of chopping the peppers, add them with the peppercorns and coriander to the blender with the brinjal and garlic. The pate may not look as colourful, but it will taste just as good.

Ingredients:

3 brinjals (aubergines)

2 sweet red peppers

5 cloves garlic

7.5ml pink (or green) peppercorns in brine, drained and crushed

30ml chopped fresh coriander

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Arrange the whole brinjals, peppers and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic and set aside. Turn over the brinjals and peppers and return them to the oven. Continue to bake them for a further 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the garlic cloves and place them in a blender.

Remove the charred peppers from the oven and place them in a plastic zip-lock bag. Set aside to cool. Return the brinjals to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Split each brinjal in half and scoop out the flesh into a sieve placed over a bowl. Discard the skins. Press the flesh with a spoon to remove the bitter juices, which can be discarded. Add the brinjal flesh to the garlic in the blender and process until smooth. Put the mixture in a bowl.

Skin, core and seed the peppers and finely chop the flesh. Stir the peppers into the brinjal mixture. Mix in the peppercorns and chopped coriander and blend thoroughly. Spoon into a serving dish and serve immediately.