Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: roast aubergines, herb labne and toasted bread

Turning the pages of my diaries, I notice that I eat more dairy produce in late spring and summer. Soft, snow-white clouds of labne freckled with chopped herbs, yoghurt spiked with sesame and citrus to accompany grilled fish, and cream desserts, such as lemon posset or milky panna cottas, to flatter apricots or early berries.

This week, I stirred chopped basil and parsley into shop-bought labne. The pepperiness of the herbs and the piquancy of the thick dairy curds made a base on which to rest grilled aubergines, charred at the edges, with a hailstorm of toasted pine kernels. I sometimes make my own labne, a question of leaving yoghurt, generously salted, in a sieve overnight. Then I might beat in a little olive oil and spoon it over grilled mushrooms.

There was squid at the fishmongers, white and pink body sacs glistening, tentacles beckoning this shopper to take them home. I let the fishmonger do the dirty work, pulling out the yucky, slimy bits and handing me a spotless tube squid to cut into rings, and tentacles to flour and fry until they crisped up, waving at me from the hot pan. We ate them with prawns and a sharp and nutty sauce of kefir and tahini.

The first Turkish apricots turned up this week. There is little like the first apricot of the season. Often a little dull in colour, lacking the sunset flush and red freckles of those later in the year, they have a hint of sourness about them that I like. I had planned to eat them on toast with plain, unseasoned labne, but they never got that far. The whole bag disappeared in 24 hours.

The wild garlic is still around. The wide, pointed leaves and star-like flowers are something to stir into the middle of a soft pillow-like omelette or chop up and add to a bowl of hollandaise. What appeals is the subtlety of the garlic notes, mild and sweet and so different from the cloves. You can make a garlic butter for mussels or mushrooms, or tuck a leaf or two and a slice of butter inside a chicken as it roasts.

Anyone who planted radishes at the first sign of spring might want to start thinning them out over the next few weeks. Small though the infant radishes might be, they will still pack a punch and shouldn’t be discarded. Probably not worth putting in a salad, they will nevertheless be a treat to be crunched after they have been put on ice for a few minutes. Or toss them with the last of the blood oranges and sprigs of watercress.

I spotted peas today. Crisp and unblemished, the plump pods called my name. They were podded and in a pot of boiling water within minutes of arriving home. Tossed in a peppery olive oil, lemon and salt, they made a sweet, verdant dressing for a ball of burrata.

We have at last turned the corner, and though there is still the odd chill wind about, spring is here in all its green glory. This cook could not be happier.

Serves 2-4. Ready in 45 minutes.

Thick toast is good here, sponging up the olive oil and providing a crisp contrast to its luscious cargo. If you don’t want to use aubergines, then grill a batch of tomatoes, halved and dressed with thyme and a little grated garlic. A lunch dish when served with a generous salad to follow. 

spring onions 10
olive oil 100ml
basil 10g
parsley leaves 10g
labne 200g
yoghurt 200g
aubergines 500g
thyme leaves 2 tsp
olive oil 100ml
pine kernels 3 tbsp
sourdough 4 large slices
rocket leaves a handful
salt and black pepper to taste

Trim the spring onions, snipping off the roots and removing any very dark, tough leaves. Warm a griddle over a moderately high heat. Brush the spring onions with a little oil, place on the griddle in a single layer and let them cook for 7-8 minutes until tender. Turn them and let the other side colour to a patchy, honey brown. If you let them darken too much they’ll be bitter. Take off the heat and set aside. Don’t wash the pan, you’ll need it later.

Chop the basil and parsley leaves, then stir into the labne and yoghurt. Season with black pepper. I doubt you’ll need salt, but check anyway.

Cut the aubergines into 5mm slices from stem to tip. Lay them on a baking sheet and heat an overhead oven grill. Finely chop the thyme and stir into the remaining olive oil with a grinding of pepper and salt. Brush the aubergines with the oil, then cook under the grill for 10 minutes or so, until appetisingly browned. Turn them with tongs, brush with more seasoned olive oil, scatter over the pine kernels, then return to the grill for 5 more minutes or until golden brown.

Warm the pan you used for the spring onions. Toast the sourdough until golden. Place the hot toast on plates, scatter over a few rocket leaves and moisten with a little oil, then top with a spoonful of labne and some of the spring onions and aubergines. Scatter with any stray pine kernels.