Battered whitebait with ajvar and garlic-pistachio mayonnaise

Serves 4 Starters and mains

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Method

Heat the grill to high and set the shelf 20cm from the heat. Halve the peppers and arrange them on an oven tray, cut-side down. Grill for up to 10 minutes, until the skin chars and blisters.

Put the peppers in a large bowl, cover tightly with cling film and let them sweat for 10 minutes. Remove the skins (don't worry

if a little blackened skin remains). Set the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Halve the aubergine and sit it on a tray, cut-side up. Prick the cut side all over with a skewer, spoon 1⁄2tsp of the oil over each half and rub it in. Roast for around 30 minutes, until soft.

Scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. Put the skinned peppers, the aubergine flesh and the grated garlic in a processor and pulse to roughly chop. Add the oil, white balsamic, pepper and salt and pulse once to mix. Transfer the mixture to a pan and simmer for 20 minutes over a low heat. The ajvar can be served hot or cold.

For the mayonnaise, cut the root ends off the garlic cloves and roast in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until soft (this can be done along with the aubergine for the ajvar). When soft, pop the cloves out of the skins and leave to cool.

Put the garlic on a board and crush with a knife. Put in a bowl with the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and a pinch of salt and whisk to combine. Start to drip in the sunflower oil slowly, whisking continually. Use a cloth under the bowl so it doesn’t slip, as you will need two hands here. As the mixture starts to thicken, continue adding the oil just a little bit faster.

When the sunflower oil has been used up, add a good squeeze of lemon juice and then add the extra virgin olive oil in a slow, steady stream until it gets thicker and all the oil has been used up.

Check to see if any more lemon juice and a pinch more salt is needed: this is important as it enhances the flavour. If the mayonnaise is too thick for you, add a little cold water and a little more lemon juice or vinegar.

Whizz the pistachios in a food processor to finely grind them and add to the mayonnaise. Chill until needed.

Just before serving, fry the whitebait. Rinse them under cold water and drain well. Pat dry on a tray lined with kitchen paper.

Heat the oil to around 190C: a wok is best to use in this recipe so the batter doesn’t stick to the wire basket in a deep-fat fryer, or use a large deep-sided pan.

Sift the flours into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the egg, vinegar, seasoning and parsley and a little of the sparkling water, stirring gently. Add more water, gradually bringing down the flour into the liquid – don’t overmix; it’s fine for it to be a little lumpy.

Dip a small batch of whitebait at a time into the batter and add them separately to the hot oil, so they don’t all stick together. Fry for 2 minutes, until golden. Transfer to an oven tray lined with kitchen paper and put in a low oven while the other batches are fried. Serve immediately with the ajvar and garlic-pistachio mayonnaise.

NOTE: The mayonnaise recipe makes around 350ml more than you need for this dish. Store the remainder in a jar. The basic mayonnaise and the ajvar will keep, chilled, for up to a week.