This can be a tasty canape if you use a cracker or a small portion of bread, or a starter for a lunch or dinner with a bigger toast. The combination of flavours is delicious and if you don’t want anchovies, just take them off 🙂 But trust me, if you buy authentic anchovies from the North of Spain, you will have a completely different experience as they are neither fishy nor salty but with a meaty texture and soft anchovy flavour.
The key is to balance the flavours of the aubergine pate, cottage cheese and anchovy (and some tomato to refresh the combination).
I make an “aubergine pate” that it’s not a baba ghanoush as I don’t use tahini. Actually, I would say that it’s more a spreadable roasted aubergine. I hope you like it!
Ingredients for 8 tapas
1 aubergine (400 g); 1 tomato on the vine (120 g); 8 slices of artisan sourdough bread; half red onion, diced finely; 125 g cottage cheese; 8 anchovies; Extra virgin olive oil; ¼ tsp of: ground cumin, ground thyme, grated lemon zest and fresh parsley; a pinch of paprika, fresh ground black pepper and salt
1.- Roast the aubergine in the oven at 180º C for 20 minutes.
2.- Once roasted and cooled, peel, and put in a mixing bowl with the onion, cumin, thyme, parsley, salt, paprika, and lemon zest. Pour the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and blend until you get a smooth spreadable texture.
3.- Put the mixture in a clean bowl and keep in the fridge covered.
4.- Cut a very shallow crosshatch at one end of the tomatoes, scald for 30 seconds in boiling water. Cool down in a bowl of ice water, then peel, cut open to remove seeds and dice finely the tomato flesh. Season with a pinch of salt and extra virgin olive oil.
5.- Slice the bread and lightly toast. Spread the aubergine cream, cover that with some cottage cheese and diced tomato and place a Cantabric anchovy on top.
6.- Sprinkle a bit of finely chopped parsley to decorate.
I served this tapa at Cambridge Wine Merchants Cherry Hinton Rd. for the series of Sunday Tapas and people really enjoyed it. The wine recommendation is a Spanish wine Follas Novas 2016.
An albarino white wine from Rias Baixas is a lovely straw yellow colour, with a clear bright medium-high intensity, with tastes of white flowers and citrus.
The background has hints of lemon verbena, it’s a very well balanced wine with very floral and fresh acidity.
This lovely wine will work fantastically with the Aubergine as it will not overpower the delicate flavours as well as standing up to the strong flavours of the cottage cheese and tomato.
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