Easy Aubergines & Crunchy Slaw

In honour of Organic September, Soil Association employee and chef Isabel Gladwin, is showing us how to make delicious grilled aubergines with crunchy cabbage slaw.

More-ish grilled aubergine and tangy feta make this the perfect dish to impress your friends and family with at dinner parties and pot-lucks.

If you really want to knock their socks off, serve alongside this crunchy cabbage slaw, which is made with a vegan roasted cashew dressing. Enjoy!

Grilled aubergines:

Taken from BBC Good Food. Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 aubergines
• 150g feta
• 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the grill to a high heat.
2. Run a small, sharp knife around the aubergine, just piercing the skin - one cut around the top of the aubergine, about 1cm below the stalk, and four evenly spaced cuts, down the length of the aubergine, right to the bottom.
3. Grill the aubergines for about 20 minutes, turning every few minutes, until evenly cooked with charred dull brown skin. When they are done, they should feel soft, but not collapsed. Transfer to a large plate and allow them to cool for a few minutes.
4. Peel away the aubergine skin using a small knife. The lines you cut earlier will help you, it should come away in four long, narrow sheets. Without cutting right through the stalk end, cut the aubergines in half so you have two horizontal halves that remain attached at the top.
5. Mix the garlic, parsley and olive oil together until it's well combined and then cover the aubergine with the mixture.
6. Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Crumble the feta over the top and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Slaw:

Serves: 4 (as a side)

Ingredients:

• 100g cashews
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 head of red cabbage
• 1/2 onion
• 1 fennel bulb
• Handful of raisins

Method:

1. Roast the cashews in a dry frying pan over a medium flame. This should take around 5 mins, but make sure to give them a shake every 30 seconds or so to stop them from burning. They are ready when they are smelling toasty and appear light brown but not charred in colour. Leave on a plate to cool.
2. When they are not too hot to the touch, put the cashews in the food processor (in the smallest bowl if you have more than one), turn on and leave for about 10 mins, or until they form a paste and gather together in a ball. Stop occasionally to push down the bits that have stuck to the side. Pro tip: If you don't have a higher powered food processor that you can leave on for 10 minutes, just do it in short bursts. 
3. While the cashews are blending slice the vegetables into matchstick-sized pieces (longer is fine for the cabbage).
4. When the cashews have transformed into butter, turn the food processor back on and add the olive oil and lemon juice. Finally, add water very slowly (around 3 tbsp) until it has reached your desired consistency
5. Taste and season before tossing the cashew dressing through the vegetables.