Aubergine, homemade chilli peanut butter, green sauce, crispy leeks by Chantelle Nicholson

Serves: 6
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Ingredients

2-3 aubergine
150g toasted peanuts
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 handful basil
1 handful coriander
1 handful parsley
100ml olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, roasted
1 leek, finely sliced into 3mm rounds
Vegetable oil
Salt
Mint leaves to garnish

Method

1 - Pop 100g of the peanuts into a blender with the chilli flakes, a good pinch of salt, and a good glug of oil. Blend until a loose paste forms. Add the rest of the peanuts and pulse until you have a textured peanut butter. Set aside.

2 - Pop the herbs, olive oil, vinegar, roast garlic & sugar into a blender (or use a stick blender & a beaker) with a good pinch of salt. Blitz until a semi-smooth paste. Taste, adding more salt if needed, and a splash of water.

3 - For the leeks, heat the oil in your fryer or wok to 165 degrees. When hot, add the leek and cook until just golden. Remove & season well with salt.

4 - Cut each into 6-8 wedges, depending on the size. Drizzle liberally with oil & season with salt. Heat a large frying pan until hot. Brown each side of the wedges of aubergine until golden brown & cooked through. Note, don’t cram into the pan too much - you will need to do it in batches!

5 - To serve, place a good dollop of the peanut butter on the plate. Pop the cooked aubergine wedges onto a plate. Spoon over the green sauce then finish with the crispy leeks and mint leaves.