CHEESE STUFFED AUBERGINE WITH TOMATO SAUCE
This appetizer is a classic Italian dish that can be varied in many ways. You could serve it with some herbs (like basil) or with some meat, but here we take on a simpler approach and just make a vegetable-rich aubergine dish.
4 servings:
Aubergine:
2 aubergines
some olive oil
150 g/5 oz mozzarella
150 g/5 oz parmesan, grated
salt, pepper
roughly chopped parsley
Tomato sauce:
2 carrots
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
2 celery sticks
3 tbsp olive oil
500 g/1 lb tomatoes
salt, pepper to season
1. Start by making the sauce - chop the carrots, onions, garlic, and celery roughly and sauté them in olive oil on moderate heat for 5 minutes. Then, quarter the tomatoes, throw them into the pot, cover with a lid, and cook on lower heat for about an hour. From time to time squeeze out the tomato flesh so you get a tomato sauce (and not cooked tomatoes). At the end, season with salt and pepper and strain the sauce through a rough sieve.
2. While the sauce is cooking, you can make the aubergines. Slice them into circles and fry them in a hot pan in some olive oil, just so they get lightly browned on both sides. Then, in a baking tray, layer the aubergine slices with cheeses and parsley, so you make an aubergine "house" of 3 or 4 slices. Sprinkle with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and bake them in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the aubergines get soft.
3. Serve by pouring out the sauce on the plate and placing the aubergines in it.