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Neil Perry's barbecued asparagus with spiced eggplant salad

Neil Perry
Neil Perry

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Neil Perry's asparagus with spiced eggplant salad
Neil Perry's asparagus with spiced eggplant salad William Meppem

Nothing says spring like fantastic local asparagus and this dish just seems the perfect heralding of the coming warmer months.

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Ingredients

  • 2 bunches asparagus

  • extra virgin olive oil

  • sea salt

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE EGGPLANT SALAD

  • 2 eggplants, skinned and diced into ½ cm pieces

  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and finely diced

  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

  • 1 fresh jalapeño chilli, crushed to a paste

  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • handful flat-leaf parsley

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • sea salt

  • freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the barbecue to hot.

    Break the tough ends off the asparagus. Mix the asparagus, a good splash of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt in a bowl. Place asparagus on grill bars. Turn it from time to time to ensure a nice crust forms, and it gets some good grill marks all over. Cook for about 4 minutes.

    Transfer asparagus to a plate, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, pour over lemon juice and give a good grind of fresh pepper.

    Steam eggplant in a steamer for 10 minutes, until soft and tender. Place in a bowl, add all the other salad ingredients, and mix.

    Spoon the salad in the middle of 4 large plates, then place the asparagus spears across in 4 equal portions. Serve with delicious, crusty bread. 

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Neil PerryNeil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.

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