1. The day before: For the nut cream, soak the cashews in water overnight. The following day, drain the water and dab the nuts dry. Finely grate the lemon zest and squeeze out the juice. Carefully blend the nuts, oil and water together in a high-powered blender until creamy. Season with salt.
2. Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade.
3. Trim the aubergines and cut into exact 3cm cubes. Add the aubergine cubes to the marinade, toss and leave to marinate for about 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, cut the aubergine trimmings (approx. 200g) into small pieces. Heat a little oil in a sauté pan and fry gently over a medium heat.  Add the garlic and sauté for a further 10 minutes. Add the sesame oil to the mixture and purée until silky smooth. Season the paste with salt.
5. Roughly chop the fennel fronds and set aside. Finely slice the fennel bulb. Squeeze the lemon. Marinate the fennel with the lemon juice and a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to 170 °C in a wide sauté or frying pan.  Wipe the marinade off the aubergine cubes. Set the marinade aside. Toss the cubes in the flour, pat dry and shake off any excess flour. Fry in portions for approx. 3 minutes per portion. Lift out of the oil, drain well and leave to drain on kitchen towel. Toss the fried aubergine cubes again briefly in the marinade. Arrange decoratively with aubergine paste and cashew nut cream. Garnish with fennel and the fennel fronds.

Sandra's tip: If you have a home smoker you can smoke the vegetables after roasting, this makes the aubergine paste even more delicious.