Aubergines and walnuts - two things you'll find in almost every Macedonian kitchen. The Georgians use them to make one of their most traditional dishes, badrijani nigvzit: thin strips of cooked aubergine spread with walnut cream and rolled up. In Georgia it sits shoulder to shoulder with khachapuri, the cheese-filled bread, and khinkali, the meat-filled dumplings. It's served as a starter or meze, and its secret is the walnut.

The walnut is the backbone of Georgian cooking. It's used to thicken, to add creaminess, to give sauces body and to make fillings - which makes sense for a country with a long tradition of growing walnuts. Georgian cuisine also carries traces of Turkish, Persian and Russian cooking, and lately it has become fashionable in Western European cities too. Here, meanwhile, these ingredients are at the market every autumn.

Ingredients (for about 2 aubergines):

• 2 aubergines
• 200 g shelled walnuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon blue fenugreek or khmeli suneli spice mix
• fresh coriander leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons water
• olive oil
• pomegranate seeds
• salt

Method: Wash the aubergines and slice them lengthwise into thin strips, 4-5 millimetres thick. Lay them out on a tray, salt them and leave them for 15-20 minutes, then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Then fry them, grill them or roast them in the oven with a little oil, until they turn golden and become soft and pliable. Let them cool a little.

Put the walnuts, peeled garlic, ground coriander, fenugreek, vinegar, salt and fresh coriander into a blender. Add water gradually, a spoonful at a time, until you get a thick, creamy paste. Put a spoonful of walnut cream on each strip and roll it up carefully. Arrange the rolls on a plate and scatter pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander leaves on top.

The most important step is the one everybody skips: let the rolls rest for at least 30 minutes before serving, so the flavours come together. In Georgia they go on a shared table with cheeses, cured meats and pickles, alongside bread and wine. If you can't find the Georgian spice mix, that's no excuse - walnut, garlic and coriander carry the whole thing.