Barbecued Aubergine with Black Garlic and Tahini

Serve when

Send it out alongside the hogget course — this is the wedding's vegetarian main, plated with the same care as the meat.

In the series

Season 1

S1E4 · ~00:15:08 The wedding's expedition order tallies 20 portions of aubergine against 49 of hogget for the main course
S1E4 · ~00:26:24 The finished plate is described: barbecued aubergine with black garlic puree, pickled radishes, crispy kale, and tahini

In the series

This is Point North's answer to the fact that a wedding always has guests who don't eat meat — and the episode treats it with exactly as much composed detail as the hogget, right down to a precise portion count against the main. It is a small, honest detail about what a real professional kitchen actually plans for.

Ingredients

2 large aubergines (eggplants), halved lengthwise
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
For the black garlic puree:
1 head black garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
For the pickled radishes:
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the crispy kale and tahini:
1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

Method

For the pickled radishes, warm the vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved, then pour over the sliced radishes and let sit at least 30 minutes.
Blend the black garlic with the olive oil and water until completely smooth.
Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, and water into a pourable sauce, seasoning to taste.
Toss the kale with olive oil and roast at 400 F until crisp at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Score the cut side of the aubergine halves in a crosshatch, brush with oil, season, and grill or char under a hot broiler until the flesh is fully soft and deeply blackened at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Salt the scored halves and let them sit 20 minutes first, then pat dry — drawing out that moisture is what lets the flesh char instead of steam.
Spread the black garlic puree on the plate, set the charred aubergine on top, scatter with crispy kale and pickled radish, and finish with a drizzle of tahini.

Substitutions

Black garlic: If you can't find it, slow-roast whole garlic bulbs wrapped in foil at 300 F for about an hour and puree the softened cloves — it won't have black garlic's molasses depth, but it gives a similar mellow, savory base.
Aubergine: Smaller Italian or Japanese aubergines char faster and can be used whole, halved, if the large globe variety isn't available.