A distant relative of ratatouille.
Ideal vegetarian meal for two. Preparation 25 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 aubergine, cut into thin round slices
- 1 can tomato purée
- A lot of fresh basil
- Celery seed
- Bay leaves
- Parsley
- Freshly milled pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly grated Reggiano cheese
Preheat an oven to 200C. Sprinkle the aubergine slices with salt and set aside for 15 minutes before rinsing under the tap and patting dry. This firms up the texture, ensures it won’t soak up too much oil and removes the bitter juices from the aubergine.
Meanwhile, heat the tomato puree and fill the can with water to dilute it. Add the celery seed, half the basil (roughly torn), bay leaves, parsley and pepper. Add a little red chilli if you like. Set aside once it comes to the boil, and once it’s cooled down a little, taste it. You may need to add a little sugar to offset the sourness of the tomatoes.
Now fry the aubergines in a little olive oil until golden. Pat dry.
Take a little of the tomato sauce and line a shallow casserole dish with it. Add about half the aubergine, cover with a layer of basil leaves and a few slices of cheese, then cover with more tomato sauce and another layer of aubergine, basil and cheese. Top with the remaining tomato sauce and bake for 15 minutes.