- 3x small aubergines (or 2x large)
- 150g stale bread blitzed into crumbs (or shop bought breadcrumbs)
- chilli flakes
- oregano
- 4 garlic cloves
- salt
- pepper
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 banana shallots
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 pack green beans
- 250ml white wine
- 100ml olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- mint leaves
1. Score the aubergine skin to allow for easy peeling later, and cook them in the oven for 1 hour or until very soft. Peel the skin away and squeeze out excess water over a colander;
2. Weight the aubergine meat and finely chop it (it should be roughly 320g). Take 1/3 of this weight for weight of breadcrumbs (roughly 110g), and then take 1/3 of this for water weight (30g);
3. Put breadcrumbs and water together in a bowl, then add to chopped drained aubergine. Season with the rest of the ingredients and set aside;
4. Slice shallots and melt down in a pan with lots of olive oil on a low heat until soft. Boil beans in a pan of salty water for 4 minutes. Then, add the blanched beans to the pan with the olive oil and shallots;
5. Add white wine and roughly chopped tomatoes. Keep the pan slightly covered and cook on a low heat until the beans are really soft and lose their green colour. This should take around 40 minutes. Check seasoning and add a dash of vinegar and salt if it needs it;
6. To fry the fritters, take a large frying pan with straight sides, or a wide saucepan, and fill with vegetable oil at least two inches deep. Once the oil is hot, form the patties in your hand into whatever shape you like, and drop into the oil. It should bubble gently, keep turning in the oil to cook evenly. It should take about 4 minutes to cook all the way through;
7. Arrange the fritters on a baking tray once fried and finish in the oven before serving on top of the braised beans.