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Aubergine salad/dip - (melitzanosalata)

INGREDIENTS
6 large aubergines
3-6 cloves of garlic to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons vinegar
salt

METHOD

Wash the aubergines, place them in a flat oven dish and grill them under high heat (if barbecuing, just stick them on the BBQ while the heat is still too fierce for the rest of the food to go on) making sure to turn them round until their skins are well, if not totally, charred. Take them out and let them cool.

Meanwhile, peel the cloves of garlic and press them through a garlic press (or chop as finely as you can).

Slice the charred aubergines lengthwise and scoop out their cooked interior into a bowl with a spoon, avoiding the bits of charred skin as much as you can (it is not unhealthy, just unsightly) and letting most of the oily natural liquids of the aubergine drain away. Add the pressed/chopped garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt to taste. Beat the mixture into a coarse but uniform consistency with a fork – I use two spoons sliding across each other scissor fashion. If you want, you can put it through a food processor, but then it will become a smooth paste, whereas the coarse consistency is more "ethnic"! Chill and use as a dip, or take some on a plate with starters (that is how it is used in Greece). The smokey flavour of the aubergine is to die for.