Roast tomato and aubergine soup with anchovy aïoli

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Lunch
Cuisine ottolenghi
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 aubergines 550g, trimmed
  • 350 g datterini or cherry tomatoes
  • 2 large red chillies roughly chopped into quarters (seeds and pith removed if you prefer less heat)
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2½ tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 litre chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 100 g good-quality bread croutons homemade or shop-bought, to serve
  • 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves finely chopped, to serve
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley leaves finely chopped, to serve

For the aïoli

  • 5 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
  • 8 anchovy fillets drained and finely chopped
  • 90 ml olive oil
  • 50 ml sunflower oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 230C.
  • Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of the aubergine skin from top to bottom, leaving them with alternating stripes of black skin and white flesh, a bit like a zebra, then cut the aubergines into 3cm chunks.
  • Put the tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and oil on a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper and season with a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Toss very well to coat, then roast for 45 minutes, stirring once halfway, until the aubergines are a dark golden brown, then leave to cool.
  • Meanwhile, get on with everything else. For the aïoli, put the first three ingredients and half a teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan on a low heat. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes, until the garlic and anchovies are soft and can be mashed with the back of a spoon; take care that the oil does not get too hot, or the garlic will catch and burn– if it starts to bubble too much, just take the pan off the heat to cool down a little, then return to the heat.
  • Transfer 60g of the garlic and anchovy oil mixture to a measuring jug, add the sunflower oil and leave to cool.
  • Return the pan with the remaining garlic and anchovy oil mixture to a medium-high heat, then add the tomato paste and fry for three minutes, until fragrant. Add the stock, lemon juice and a teaspoon and a quarter of salt, and leave to simmer gently on a medium heat for 15 minutes.
  • Now finish the aïoli. Put the egg yolk, lemon juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in the small bowl of a food processor, then, with the motor running, very slowly start pouring in the cooled garlic and anchovy oil mixture, until the mix emulsifies and thickens to a mayonnaise-like consistency. Transfer to a small bowl.
  • Divide the roast aubergine mix between four bowls, then top with the hot broth, the croutons and a spoonful of aïoli. Finish with the herbs and a good grind of pepper, and serve straight away.
original recipe

Read Next