© 2002 Ashy Macbean.
Mutabel
If you were in one of the Arabian Gulf countries, you could ask for this in a restaurant, but in Turkey you would have to ask for patlican salitasi. Either way you would get roast aubergine puree with garlic, and it would be delicious. In the Gulf it would probably be made with some tahini in it, so we'll put that as an option in the list of ingredients.
I suggest using two large aubergines in the list of ingredients below. That's because I also suggest roasting them over a gas flame and the best way to do that is by sticking a fork in each one and holding the fork in your hand. It stands to reason that for most people, the optimum number of aubergines that can comfortably be roasted at one time is two. If you want to make more, do two or three lots. You have to let the aubergines cool anyway before you peel them. If you've got a friend to help you, you could do four at a time couldn't you? That could be quite romantic, standing side by side at the cooker roasting aubergines. Don't scoff. When I was chasing after Svetlana I got her to help me make salt cabbage, her being a Russian woman and therefore an expert at such things. We spent all day cutting up and crushing cabbage on my kitchen floor. While I can't say that this was the precise event which lead to us eventually entering into a romantic relationship, it certainly helped.
A quick word of warning before we do the recipe. I usually encourage readers to treat my recipes as rough guides and as sources of inspiration, rather than strict formulas. It's good to use your imagination and your own skills to modify and adapt my ideas, leave some bits out or put extra bits in. Whatever you do with this recipe, however, don't leave out the stage where you prick the skins of the aubergines with a fork. It could be very dangerous if you do. The first time I tried this recipe it was my friend Ved who explained how to roast the aubergines. He said to 'stick a fork in them' and I thought he just meant use a fork to hold them in the flame. My aubergine started to smell as if it was roasting but instead of beginning to wrinkle, the skin got smoother and shinier. After a minute or so more, I lifted it out of the flame and brought it up to my face for closer inspection. Just at that second there was an almighty bang and I was covered in scalding aubergine. Luckily I was wearing glasses. All that was left on the fork was the stalk and a few shreds of skin. When I told Ved, he was completely unsympathetic. 'I told you to stick a fork in them, man.' he said. Now, don't say I didn't warn you.
If you don't have gas, another option is to boil the whole aubergines for about 15 to 20 minutes. The skin will strip off fairly easily but you should also squeeze out the excess liquid from the aubergines before chopping and mashing them. You might want to do it this way even if you do have gas but you wont get the smoky toasted flavour that roasting gives.
Ingredients
2 large aubergines
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
2 or 3 dessert spoons of olive oil
2 dessert spoons of tahini (for the Arabic option)
Salt
Wash the aubergines and pull the green stalks off the ends. Prick the skin all over with a fork then stick a fork in the stalk end of each aubergine (jam it right in). Put the gas ring on full and hold the aubergines in the flame, turning them so that they get evenly burned. Yes, that's right, burned. It should take about 10 minutes, but by the end the fruits should be thoroughly charred black. The skin should be cracking and starting to peel and catch fire.
Go and do something else for 20 minutes and leave your roasted aubergines to cool. When they are cool, peel the skin off and give them a rinse under the tap. Slice the fruits thinly then give them a rough chop. By this time they'll be almost pureed. Put the mush into a flat bottomed container and add the garlic, chopped or crushed, and the oil and salt. Mash everything up a bit more. Use a fork or a vegetable masher. If you want to put tahina in, do it at the end.
Mutabel is great served with fresh bread and tabouleh.