Moroccan Aubergine Escalope- vegan, gluten free

Moroccan aubergine escalope is a spicy side dish that works well with a green salad

.
We bought some lovely aubergines at our local produce market last week, and we really wanted to do something a bit different with them this time. We often eat them grilled in olive oil, as part of a curry or pureed with tahini as a dip. This time we were after a different texture to add to their soft juiciness so we went for coating them in spiced cornmeal. We served the escalopes with gluten free pasta in a fresh tomato sauce, a green salad and some toasted almonds and cashews to make a complete meal of it. A lighter meal (perfect for a Summer lunch ) would be to serve them with hummus, olives and salad.

This recipe serves 5 as a side.

2 medium/ large aubergines (eggplants)

4 tsps Orgran "No Egg" and 8 tabs water (or you could use a coating batter made from gram flour and water, or 3-4 "flax eggs")

150g fine cornmeal (aka makai ka atta)

2 tsps seasalt

3 level tabs ras el hanout Moroccan spice mix

1 level tab paprika

1/2-1tsp compound hing

• Wash and slice the aubergines longditudinally, 4-5mm thick.
• Steam them until just tender (not soggy, as it's hard to stop them falling apart if they get to that stage), and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, salt and spices in a shallow dish and whisk up your chosen batter.
• Take each slice of aubergine, dip in the batter and coat carefully in the spice and cornmeal mixture.
• Lay the slices carefully on a well-oiled baking sheet and grill at medium-high temperature on both sides until starting to brown. Serve hot!

If you like the sound of this recipe, you might also like:

Baba Ghanoush

Tofu Burgers

Moroccan Apricot and Almond Couscous

Kala Chana Hummus

Green Pea Hummus

Broad Bean Hummus

Fresh Tomato Sauce

North African Chickpeas with Ras el Hanout