NADIYA HUSSAIN'S CORONATION AUBERGINE RECIPE FIT FOR THE KING

✦ The coronation plans, code-named Operation Golden Orb.

• 2 teaspoons mango chutney, finely chopped

• 2 tea spoons whole milk

• To serve:

• A small handful of crispy fried onion

• A small handful of raisins

• A small handful of fresh coriander, thinly sliced

Method:

1. Start by putting the oil in a bowl with the minced garlic, onion, paprika and salt. Mix really well and set aside with a pastry brush.

And, moreover, there is the Queen’s own secret, to be hidden from the public at all costs: in her final year and months, her inability to get around except by wheelchair. How, despite chronic mobility issues and the agony of advancing myeloma, she would struggle to appear standing upright –but only after arriving in the chair just inside the Buckingham Palace balcony doors, or the doors to the room of her audience with the new British PM – then being helped with her walking stick to make a brief appearance before being returned, out of sight, to the chair.

Much of the book’s appeal emerges in reading between the lines. Jobson is proficient at the British art of oblique understatement. One message above all that pervades the bookeven as its subject is Charles - is the Queen’s immense sadness in her final days, despite her lifetime of diligent service, caused by the actions of her grandson Harry. Then there is Charles’ own despair and heartache over his second son. And the revelation that sanctimonious Harry, albeit as a youngster, was guilty of racial discrimination.

The book’s other not-so-apparent aspect is its deceptively simple narrative: Jobson uses the dates of events as the basis of relating each stage in his history of Charles’ life and of those around him, to tell his story, and in doing so conveys the continuum of Charles’ journey from birth to the throne in a flowing form, as if reading from the pages of a diary … by contrast with the episodic outbursts of “news”, good and ill, that are the usual way the public learns of royal developments via the media.

There is much to be impressed by in what we learn of Charles in this new release. Among his altruistic recent acts, we’re reminded, was his donation of 1 billion pounds to the UK Treasury, derived from wind farm projects on his Crown lands. The simple cover photo of Charles (only credited in small type at the bottom of the back cover) is remarkable for its portrayal of a venerable chap, his face a mixture of emotions – perhaps puzzled (at Harry?), perhaps sad (at the loss of his parents?), perhaps apprehensive, wondering as his coronation day arrives what he can achieve with such an inevitably and comparatively short time left to him on the throne.

Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will attend the coronation service of his father, King Charles III, setting aside months of speculation about his presence. The coronation date on 6th May, 2023 will coincide with Archie's birthday.

Whatever it is, there's always food for the celebration.

Here, we are serving you Nadiya's Coronation Aubergine

King Charles III by Robert Jobson. John Blake Publishing. May 2 2023. RRP $34.99.

"Aubergines often feature as a side dish when served at a table for dinner, but not here. We are taking this delicious aubergine, coating it with flavour, frying till tender and then drizzling over the simplest coronation dressing. It’s like dinner at my mum’s collided with my lunches at school to create this beauty," says Nadiya Hussain.

Serves: 4-6

Prep: 24 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 225ml olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 small onion, grated

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 large aubergines, sliced into 1cm thick slices (about 600g)

For the dressing:

• 200g Greek yogurt

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

2. Pop the aubergines onto a tray (they can overlap, that is fine). Take the oil mixture and brush the aubergine slices generously with the oil on both sides till you have finished all the mixture. Set aside.

3. Put one large or two small (if you have them) griddle pan(s) onto a medium heat (these are great on the barbecue, too, FYI).

4. Griddle in batches on both sides. They take approx. 2 minutes on each side. You will know they are ready when the flesh looks saturated, less spongy and softer. Pop onto a plate, overlapping, ready to serve.

5. Make the dressing by combining the yoghurt, curry powder, garlic, salt and mango chutney and giving it all a really good mix. Add a few tablespoons of whole milk to loosen the mixture just a little.

6. Drizzle the dressing all over the top of the aubergine, saving the rest to serve on the side. Sprinkle with fried onions, raisins and coriander to serve.

Recipe from Nadiya's Fast Flavours by Nadiya Hussain.