I hunted out a recipe for deep fried aubergine fritters which works reasonably well at home, if you can dig out the deep fat fryer.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 300g aubergines, cut into 7-8mm- thick slices
• 110g plain flour
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for deep-frying
• 150ml cold water
• 2 free-range egg whites
• Clear honey for drizzling
• Fine sea salt

1.       Sprinkle the aubergine slices lightly on both sides with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

2.       Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the oil and the water. Gradually beat together to make a smooth batter. Set aside to rest, along with the aubergines.

3.       Pat the aubergine slices dry with kitchen paper. Pour 1cm of olive oil into a large deep frying pan and heat it to 180°C.

4.       Whisk the egg whites into soft peaks and fold them into the batter. Dip the aubergine slices a few at a time into the batter, add them to the hot oil and deep-fry for 1 minute on each side until crisp and golden. Leave to drain briefly on kitchen paper.

5.       Serve immediately while they are still hot and crisp, drizzled generously with the honey.