Roast Aubergine Parmigiana

Of course the problem with preparing great big lumps of tender meat dripping with rich wine-based sauces is that no one else wants to eat them. So in the interests of maintaining a healthy marriage I do like to delve into the depths of vegetarian cuisine.

But chickpeas, lentils….spelt!? Come on. I’d end up growing a tail and start nibbling raw carrot. So I’m always looking out for UVCs (Unusual Vegetable Creations). And here we focus on the Aubergine. ‘Aubergine’? Alright the Eggplant. But I can’t call it that because it neither has the shape of an egg, nor the colour (Why is it called an eggplant? Come to think of it, why is it called an aubergine? I’m renaming it – ‘Purple Shiny Potato’).

But aubergines have a reputation – big mushy things that need to be soaked in salt water to remove the bitterness, right? Wrong that’s all old-school – you can cook them nowadays like anything else. But we don’t do ‘anything else’ here, and found this interesting way of preparing them.

Roast Aubergine Parmigiana Ingredients

• 2 aubergine
• A big lump of mozzarella (like in the picture above)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tin (pack) diced tomato
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• small handful basil
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 6 pieces sundried tomato
• parmesan
• handful of breadcrumbs

First off fry the garlic and the stalks of the basil in some olive oil:

Add both tomato varieties, the honey, the thyme and let simmer:

Meanwhile get the aubergine ready. Cut each one cross-wise six times, but not right through, just deep slits:

Now stick a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf into each slit:

Put some sauce into some small dishes and then pop the aubergines on top. Season with S&P and drizzle some olive oil on top:

Cover with foil and bake at 200 centigrade for about 45 mins:

Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle with parmesan and breadcrumbs and return to the oven to crisp up the topping for 10 mins:

Serve with a few basil leaves and a bit of balsamic if you fancy it. What was it like? I mean a great big juicy veg thing? Not bad – quite meaty in fact – take a look inside:

The only significant calories here are cheese based! (Okay there’s quite a lot of cheese).