Sweet and sour aubergine salad

Portion size: Serves 6-8
Prep time 20 min, plus overnight marinating. Cook time 10 min
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Gluten-free

Vegan

Pollyanna Coupland

Food producer, delicious.

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These hot, sweet and sour marinated aubergines are an excellent salad to have in the fridge and eat for lunch all week; they just carry on soaking up the flavour.

Italian inspiration: This vegan dish was inspired by an Italian caponata, in which aubergines are stewed in a sweet-and-sour sauce with pine nuts and sultanas.
Global flavours: Our Thai influenced take uses a sweet chilli dressing, with fresh lime for the sour balance and dried mango replacing the fruity sultanas.
Make ahead: This aubergine salad is best eaten the next day, giving time for the aubergine to soak up those flavours.

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Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
3 aubergines, cut into 2-3cm cubes
100g dried mango, any larger pieces torn into strips
10g thai basil
2 tbsp cashews, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant

For the dressing

100g caster sugar
70ml rice vinegar
1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves removed, finely chopped
2 bird’s eye chillies
1 shallot, sliced into rings
Juice ½ lime

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Method

Put a large frying pan over a high heat with 1 tbsp of the oil. Once hot, add the aubergine (work in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan) and fry until golden, adding a little more oil with each batch if needed. Transfer to a bowl with the dried mango once cooked.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put all the dressing ingredients apart from the lime in a small pan and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Leave to cool a little, then pour over the aubergine and squeeze the lime juice over. Stir well and leave to marinate (overnight in the fridge ideally, but for whatever time you have).
If the aubergines have been refrigerated, get them out to come to room temperature in good time before serving. Garnish with the thai basil and toasted cashews.
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