INGREDIENTS

(serves four)

200g aubergine caviare (see below)
150ml sun-dried tomato sauce (see below)
8 tomato petals made from a tomato confit (see below)
50g unsalted anchovies in oil
12 slices of aubergine cut diagonally
4 basil leaves
100g basic pommes mousseline (made with more cream, less butter than usual to compensate for the oil from the anchovies)
4 x 500g Dover sole, skinned and filleted
120ml olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
20ml basil oil

For the aubergine caviare
Half an aubergine
1 clove of garlic
Rosemary
Olive oil

For the sun-dried tomato sauce
5 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 red pepper, skinned and de-seeded
5 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
110g marinatedsun-dried tomatoes

For tomato confit petals
2 tomatoes - skinned, quartered and de-seeded
Salt and pepper
Sugar
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
Rosemary or thyme

METHOD

Make the caviare by scoring the skin ofhalf an aubergine. Spike with garlic and rosemary, drizzle with oil. Wrap in foil and cook at 160ºC for half an hour. Remove garlic and rosemary, scoop out flesh, blitz and drain.

For the sun-dried tomato sauce, sweat shallots and garlic, red pepper, plum tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes. Add Noilly Prat and passata and cook out. Blitz and strain through chinois.

For the tomato petals, place quartered tomatoes on a baking tray. Sprinkle a little salt, pepper and sugar over them. Put a thin sliver of garlic and a piece of rosemary or thyme under the tomato quarters and place tray on warm part of stove, but not under direct heat, for two hours.

Purée anchovies and pass through tamis cloth. Fry aubergine slices until crisp and place on cooking wire to allow excess oil to drain. Fry basil until crisp. Reheat aubergine caviare and tomato confit.

Reheat pommes mousseline, add anchovy purée to taste. Season. Pan-fry Dover sole on both sides in olive oil until just cooked. Deglaze pan with lemon juice and keep with fish. Reheat the sun-dried tomato sauce. To assemble, spoon a pool of the anchovy pommes mousseline on to each plate. Place a slice of fried aubergine on top, then one piece of tomato confit on top of the aubergine.

Place two fillets of sole on top of the tomato confit. Place another slice of aubergine on top and repeat layers of tomato confit and remaining two sole fillets. Top with third aubergine slice.

Place basil leaf on top, spoon sun-dried tomato sauce around, spoon basil oil around. Serve.

Stephen Smith