Baby gem lettuce with burnt aubergine yoghurt, smacked cucumber and shatta
This works well either as a stand-alone starter or as part of a spread or side. It’s lovely with some hot smoked salmon or trout. ‘Smacked’ cucumbers sounds a bit dramatic but, really, it’s just a way of bruising them so as to allow all the flavour to seep through to the flesh. Thanks to Ottolenghi chef Calvin Von Niebel for this salad.To get ahead, make all the elements well in advance: up to a day for the cucumber and the aubergine yoghurt, and the shatta needs to be made in advance, so you’ll be all set here. And if you fancy playing around, crumble some feta on top.
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