Roasted aubergine burger with quick pickles
Serves: 4
Prep time: 55 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Roasted aubergine burger with quick pickles
Serves: 4
Prep time: 55 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
647Kcal
Fat
42gr
Saturates
5gr
Carbs
48gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
10gr
Protein
14gr
Salt
1.5gr
Luke Findlay
Luke Findlay is the Head Chef at Hopscotch in East London, bringing with him experience as Head of Development at Patty & Bun and time with Tom Kerridge at The Hand & Flowers. Luke has created a varied menu of small plates at Hopscotch, with flavours spanning the world.
See more of Luke Findlay’s recipes
Luke Findlay
Luke Findlay is the Head Chef at Hopscotch in East London, bringing with him experience as Head of Development at Patty & Bun and time with Tom Kerridge at The Hand & Flowers. Luke has created a varied menu of small plates at Hopscotch, with flavours spanning the world.
See more of Luke Findlay’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines
- 100g mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 4 tbsp tahini
- 50ml olive oil, plus more for grilling sea salt
- 100g red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 100g white cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 25ml lemon juice
- 4 tbsp crispy onions, from a 100g tub
- 4 soft rolls or burger buns, split
- 1 Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated
For the turnip pickles
- 25ml white wine vinegar
- 75ml lemon juice (from about 3 large lemons)
- 1 small raw beetroot or 2 cooked and vacuum-packed, peeled and finely sliced
- 350g (about 4 medium) turnips
For the sumac onions
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- a good couple of pinches of sumac or ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp turnip pickle juice (see above)
- 4 tbsp drained turnip pickles (see above)
Step by step
Get ahead
The pickles keep for a few weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. Prepare the sauces and roast the aubergine a few hours ahead.
- For the pickles, put the vinegar, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt, beetroot slices and 75ml water in a small saucepan. Once the pickle liquor has come to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered. Peel and dice the turnips into 5mm cubes. Pour the hot liquor (including the beetroot) over the turnips in a heatproof bowl. Stir, cool to room temperature, then cover. The recipe makes more than you need, but it’s great with ham, cheese or in salads.
- Roast one aubergine over the flame of a gas hob, turning it with metal tongs, or put under the grill, turning every 3-4 minutes until the aubergine is charred and collapsed. The flavour will beRoast one aubergine over the flame of a gas hob, turning it with metal tongs, or put under the grill, turning every 3-4 minutes until the aubergine is charred and collapsed. The flavour will be smoky. This takes 10-12 minutes. Remove to a bowl; cool to room temperature. Once cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skin, and chop the flesh.
- Mix the mayo with the crushed garlic and season. Whisk the tahini with 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl until it comes together to form a thick sauce. For the sumac onions, toss the onion with the sumac, parsley, a pinch of salt, the measured pickle juice and pickled turnips in a bowl, adding a few beetroot slices.
- For the grilled aubergine, slice the remaining aubergine into 1cm-thick rounds. Brush both sides with olive oil and season with sea salt. Heat a griddle pan to very hot. In 2 batches, griddle the aubergine slices on both sides until deep golden and soft, about 5 minutes per side – they should lose their sponginess. Transfer to kitchen paper; leave to drain. Keep warm while you cook the rest.
- Tip the chopped smoky aubergine into a bowl and add the cabbages, spring onion, 50ml olive oil, lemon juice and crispy onions. Mix well and season.
- To assemble the buns, spread the bottom bun with the tahini sauce then add a couple of lettuce leaves. Spoon some of the cabbage mix on top of the lettuce. Next add a couple of pieces of grilled aubergine. On top of the aubergine add a large spoonful of the sumac onions. Sauce the top bun with the garlic mayo, squash it down and get stuck in.
