Aubergine Parmigiana

📝 Ingredients

• 3 aubergines (about 300 g each)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion + 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes (800 g)
• 20 g fresh basil
• 2 balls of mozzarella (125 g each, drained)
• 250 g ricotta + 1 egg
• 60 g grated Parmesan
• 200 g rustic bread (to serve)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Baking trays
• Baking paper
• Pastry brush
• Saucepan
• Bowl
• Baking dish (20 × 30 cm)

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Trim the stalks off the aubergines and cut them lengthways into 1 cm thick slices. Spread them over two trays lined with baking paper, brush both sides with 2 tbsp oil and season lightly with salt.
2. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the slices halfway through, until golden and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. If they are well cooked, they won't release water into the dish: that's the most common mistake.
3. Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the chopped onion for 5 minutes until translucent, then the chopped garlic for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick.
4. Off the heat, stir three-quarters of the shredded basil into the sauce. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, half the parmesan and a grind of pepper. Cut the mozzarella into thin slices and pat dry on kitchen paper.
5. Turn the oven down to 190 °C. In the dish, spread a thin layer of sauce, then a layer of aubergine, small dollops of ricotta, a few slices of mozzarella and some sauce. Repeat until the aubergine is used up (2 to 3 layers).
6. Finish with a layer of sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
7. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before cutting, otherwise the layers will collapse. Meanwhile, toast the slices of rustic bread. Scatter the rest of the basil over the dish and serve with the bread.