Mediterranean Maki

Aubergine rolls of seasoned rice with a centre of sundried tomatoes, served with a Black Olive tapenade and Egyptian Beet salad.

First make your tapenade:

Stone 10 fat black greek cured olives. Add to them a teaspoonful of capers and a crushed clove of garlic. Mince finely together with a very sharp knife. You could use a blender or processor but this is such a tiny quantity it would be wasteful. When nicely amalgamated, add a pinch of dried oregano, a few thin shreds of preserved lemon in fine dice and two teaspoons full of olive oil. Mix together well. Cover and store in cool place until needed.

For the rolls:

Rehydrate five or six dried tomatoes (or use oil packed) and slice into very thin shreds.

Cook 200g of a shorter grained rice. I used a brown rice but rice from the Camargue or Valencia would be a nice touch. When it's cooked turn into a wide shallow bowl and add the seasoning mix of; 1 tsp. sugar and 1 (or half) tsp. salt dissolved in a very little hot water. Add 2 tbsp. mild vinegar. Stir this into the rice, fanning as you go to cool it. Cover and set aside until needed.

The aubergine wrapper is made from very thin slices of aubergine, cut lengthways. You will need nine neat slices, each one not more than 3 mm thick and you should be able to get these from one large fruit. Save the lumpy sides for another meal and concentrate on getting those slice from the fleshy central part.

Lightly salt the slices and leave for half an hour to degorge, then pat dry.

In a hot pan with just a very few drops of oil (if you have a spray use it) cook each slice until softened and slightly browned. Don't let them get crisp. Remove each slice to a piece of kitchen paper to drain while you cook the others. This isn't a difficult step but it pays to be careful and neat while you work. Don't let the slices crumple up too much.

On your sushi rolling mat (or a piece of clingfilm) arrange the cooked slices neatly so that they overlap a little and make a continuous sheet of sliced aubergine. This is your equivalent to the seaweed in a Japanese roll. Spread a layer of rice over half the sheet along the longer side, you won't need all of it, and then a line of shredded tomato along the middle of the rice. Roll up as tightly as you can, wrap tightly and set in the fridge to chill until serving.

To serve:

Dress your beet shoots (I use garden thinnings but small packs of sprouts can sometimes be bought) with a little olive oil and salt if required.

Unwrap your roll and with an extremely sharp knife make neat sections. The ends won't be very good but you will get 7 or 8 pieces. Arrange on serving plate(s) with a small mound of tapenade and a little pile of leaves.