Artichoke Truffle Pate & Roasted Aubergine

These open sandwiches are fairly straightforward to prepare, quick in the making and delicious. I like the recipe combination so much that I decided to include the artichoke pate and the roasted aubergine recipes in the same post to underline the combination - although of course either is very tasty on its own. Use good quality rustic bread (or if inclined to making your own bread, please see the recipe for a sprouted loaf) and, if like me, you are a fan of garlic, rub a clove on the toasted bread. Spread the artichoke pate, layer on some aubergine, top with rocket and serve with olives. We had a few of these sandwiches as a main, but daintier slices could easily work as an appetiser. 

Serves 2 as a main/ 4 as appetiser.

Roasted eggplant/aubergine:

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium aubergine
• Salt
• Oil. We used virgin rapeseed oil, but you could easily substitute with olive oil.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 C (we use the fan assisted setting here - adjust cooking time if you don't have that option, as the fan assisted setting will cook the aubergine faster)
• Wash, dry and cut aubergine into 1-2 cm slices
• Lay slices onto oven racks and lightly salt each slice.
• Brush each slice with enough oil to coat
• Bake in a hot oven for 20 min. You do not need to turn unless you want the grill marks on each side.

Artichoke Truffle Pate:

I love this pate, and am glad to share the recipe as I have not come across a recipe for it. We first tasted a similar spread on a trip to Florence a few years ago, before we gave up dairy. We spent a great afternoon at an aperitivo bar with my dear cousin, and everything served there for aperitivo had a greater or lesser measure of  truffle in it. This is my purely plant-based homage to that experience, and it works a treat for me.

Ingredients:

• 300g drained weight of marinated artichokes in brine or oil. The taste is obviously different between the two types of cured artichokes. I prefer those in brine while Mrs Green prefers those in oil. Both taste good.
• 2 tbs truffle oil
• Lemon juice and/or zest optional and to taste. If using, start with one tbs of juice and 1/4 tsp zest.
• A pinch of salt

Method:

• Artichokes in oil usually have herbs in them and like those in brine, come with a good dose of salt. As a rule, I generally drain and rinse those in brine and drain those in oil to keep some of the herbs.
• Place all ingredients in a small food processor and blend into desired consistency. Yes, easy as that.