Smoky eggplant rundown

This is a vegan version of rundown, a dish usually made with fish, and it is immense. The eggplant is smoky and sweet and the creamy coconut just makes every mouthful a delight.

Credit: Bloomsbury / Patricia Niven

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4–6 eggplant (aubergines)
• 1 onion, sliced
• vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger, grated
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 200 g yellow yam or pumpkin, peeled, deseeded if needed and chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 thyme sprigs
• ½ tsp ground allspice (pimento)
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 400 g can of coconut milk
• 2 bay leaves
• dumpling or other bread, to serve (see Note)

Instructions

1. Grill the eggplant (aubergines) whole over a naked flame – either on a gas stove or a barbecue – until the flesh is just soft, the skin is burnt and the air smells smoky. Place in a lidded container and, once cool enough to handle, peel. If you don’t have a flame, you can cook them under a grill until they start to smoke, or even do it in a dry pan over a high heat, turning frequently to blister the skin. Once peeled, roughly chop into big chunks.
2. Fry the onion in a splash of oil in a frying pan for 5 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper, yam or pumpkin, tomato and thyme and fry for another 5 minutes, then add the spices and fry until they are aromatic.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and add the bay leaves. Add a splash of water to loosen, put a lid on it and cook down for 15–20 minutes, until the pumpkin or yam has softened.
4. Remove the lid, stir in the eggplant and cook for another 8 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Pick out the thyme sprigs, if you want. Serve with dumpling or other bread (see Note). 

Note

• Dumplings are a staple in Jamaican cooking, simple bread rolls made with flour and baking powder (or self-raising flour), water and salt. Some may also be made with sugar, cornmeal or other additions. Melissa Thompson's book includes recipes for fried and boiled versions. 

Recipe and image from Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook by Melissa Thompson (Blooksbury, HB, $46.80). 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.