Spicy burnt aubergine flatbreads with tahini sauce

Turkish pepper paste (biber salçasi) brings a deeply savoury and spicy flavour to these flatbreads. It’s widely available, but can be swapped for tomato paste or harissa, if need be. While there are a few components here, everything can be prepared ahead of time. Make and shape dough the day before, cover and pop in the fridge to prove slowly.

Put 70g strong bread flour, 1/3 tsp fast-action dried yeast, 1/4 tsp caster sugar, 1/2 tbsp olive oil for the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 40ml lukewarm water and a sixth of a teaspoon of salt, and mix on a medium speed for about six minutes, until it forms a smooth dough (alternatively, knead by hand for about 10 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, return to the bowl, coat with 1/4 tsp olive oil, cover (I use reusable kitchen wrap) and leave in a warm place for an hour, to prove and double in size.

Meanwhile, set a griddle pan over a high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Char an aubergine (300g) and 300g vine tomatoes for 25 minutes, turning occasionally, until blackened all over and cooked through, then set aside. When they’re cool enough to handle, carefully cut the tomatoes into quarters, skin and all. Peel off and discard the aubergine skin, then cut or tear the flesh into large chunks. Put both in a large bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.

Put 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/3 tsp toasted cumin seeds, 40 ml olive oil, 4/4 tbsp biber salçasi, 1/4 tsp caster sugar and a pinch of of salt in a small saucepan on a medium heat, bring up to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for four minutes. Take off the heat, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then stir 2 tablespoons of this oily mixture and a tsp lemon zest into the aubergine bowl.

Mix 3/4 peeled shallot, sliced into very thin rounds, in a small bowl with an eighth of a teaspoon of sumac and 1 tsp lemon juice and set aside to soften.

In another small bowl, whisk 25g tahini and 0,5 tsp lemon juice with 15ml cold water and a sixteenth of a teaspoon of salt, until smooth, then cover with a plate.

Put the griddle pan back on a medium-high heat. Lightly dust the worktop with flour, halve the ball of dough and, using a rolling pin, roll out each ball  into a 12cm circle about 3mm thick. 

Depending on the size of your griddle, lay one or two round flatbreads in the pan and cook for 45-60 seconds, until bubbles appear and the bread is nicely charred in places. Flip over, cook for another 15-20 seconds on the other side, until it, too, is nicely charred, then brush both sides with some of the reserved oil mixture and put on plates.

Divide the aubergine mixture between the flatbreads, scatter over mint and parsley leaves and the shallots, and serve with the tahini sauce drizzled over the top.

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(Here Ottolenghi's original recipe)

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