This simple aubergine parmigiana recipe from Italy makes a cosy mid-week meal. Serve this cheese, tomato and aubergine bake as a vegetarian main dish, with some wholewheat garlic bread or a peppery rocket salad, or you can also make it as a hearty side for for a meat dish.!
Time: 1 hour 20 mins
Skill level: Easy
Servings: 4
Aubergine Parmigiana
Ingredients
Tomato sauce
385g of tinned chopped tomatoes
20g of butter
100g of onion,
finely diced 2 garlic cloves,
crushed 190g of tomatoes,
roughly chopped
14g of tomato purée
1 vegetable stock cube
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3g of sugar
30ml of water
9g of cornflour
10g of fresh basil, chopped
15ml of sunflower oil
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of black pepper
Aubergine slices
580g of aubergine
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of black pepper
50ml of sunflower oil
Cheese
80g of mozzarella cheese,
grated 80g of Parmesan, grated
Directions
For the sauce, add the butter and oil to a heavy-based saucepan. Once the oil is hot and the butter is foaming, add the onion and sweat for 2-3 minutes
20g of butter
15ml of sunflower oil
100g of onion, finely diced
Add the garlic, tinned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and tomato purée and cook for a further 5 minutes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
14g of tomato purée
190g of tomato, roughly chopped
385g of tinned chopped tomatoes
Crumble in the vegetable stock cube and add the oregano, salt, pepper and sugar, then stir. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil
1 vegetable stock cube
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of black pepper
3g of sugar
Dilute the cornflour in the water. Stir it all into the sauce. Turn down the heat and leave to gently simmer for 2-3 minutes
30ml of water
9g of cornflour
Stir in the freshly chopped basil, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the finished dish. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside
10g of fresh basil, chopped
Lay each aubergine down on a chopping board and slice into 4 lengthways. Season each slice with salt and pepper
580g of aubergine
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of black pepper
Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry the aubergines for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown
50ml of sunflower oil
Remove from the frying pan and place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil
In a small-sized casserole dish, arrange a layer of aubergines on the bottom and then pour over some tomato sauce
Sprinkle over some of the Parmesan and mozzarella. Repeat the process to make another layer of each
80g of mozzarella cheese, grated
80g of Parmesan, grated
Place into an oven set to 160°C/gas mark 3 for 25 minutes
Remove the aubergine bake from the oven, sprinkle with the reserved fresh basil and serve immediately