Burnt aubergine butter on garlicky tomato toast

• Burnt aubergine butter

• 1 large aubergine

• 20g best-quality butter, softened

• 6 slices sourdough bread

• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and cut in half

• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half

• finely chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, coriander (optional)

• sea salt and black pepper

If you haven’t tried aubergines with butter before, this will be a revelation. It is delicious and silky and makes for the best starter or sharing dish. Add some fresh herbs too, if you have them. This sounds like modern recipe, the name certainly is, but the original was found in an old Ukrainian cookbook.

you need to blacken and cook the aubergine until it collapses, as you would for baba ganoush. The best result comes from doing it over the smouldering coals of a barbecue, but you can also do it over an open flame if you have a gas stove: set it directly over a medium flame and keep turning it with your tongs every 5 minutes – it should take about 10–15 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast it in a 220°c/fan 200°c/gas mark 7 oven or under a hot grill for about 20 minutes.

when the aubergine is charred on the outside and really soft inside, set it aside on a plate until it is just cool enough to handle. pour off the liquid that will have come out of the aubergine into a bowl, then use your fingers to peel off the skin – don’t worry if some of it doesn’t come off, it will only add to the flavour. Add the aubergine flesh to the bowl containing the liquid and mash with a fork. while it is still warm, whisk in the butter with the fork and add some salt and pepper, then taste – it should be well seasoned and taste of comfort, like baba ganoush’s ukrainian third cousin.

grill your slices of bread on a griddle pan (or toast them), then rub first with the garlic, followed by the tomatoes – as you would for spanish pan con tomate. now spoon some of the aubergine butter on top. garnish with some finely chopped soft herbs, if you like, and serve.

if there is any aubergine butter leftover, it will keep for up to a week in the fridge – but make sure you let it come back to room temperature, or warm it gently in a pan, before using.

This recipe was taken from Summer Kitchens