Man Food by Mark Hix | Tomato & Aubergine Salad

This simple salad works as a healthy main or a flexible side. 

You can make this as fine or as coarse as you like. I prefer chopping all the ingredients by hand, but you could also give everything a quick whizz in a food processor if you like.

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized aubergines
2 cloves of garlic, preferably new season, peeled and crushed
1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and finely chopped
350–400g ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2–3tbsps chopped coriander leaves
Salt and freshly
Ground black pepper
Warm flatbread, to serve

Directions:
Cook the whole aubergines on a barbecue or under a hot grill for about 15 minutes, turning them every so often until the skin blackens.

Remove from the grill and then leave them to cool a little.

Cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh as close to the skin as you can to get a really good, smoky flavour.

Chop the flesh several times until it’s almost a purée, then put it into a bowl with the garlic, chilli, tomatoes, spring onions, olive oil and coriander.

Season and mix well with a spoon.

Serve at room temperature with some warm flatbread.

Photographs by Studio 33