Five-star flavours

Chef and social media star Poppy O’Toole shares delicious dishes from her debut book

Aubergine parmigiana

For the tomato sauce

10 garlic cloves, peeled

11⁄2 tsp salt, plus extra for the garlic

120ml olive oil

6 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes

A big pinch of black pepper

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp red wine vinegar

A bunch of basil, leaves picked and torn

1 red chilli, sliced into rounds For the aubergines

4 aubergines

50ml tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and black pepper

1⁄2 bunch of basil, leaves picked and torn

For the topping

2 x 125g balls of mozzarella or vegan alternative, torn

50g pecorino or vegan hard cheese, finely grated

● To make the tomato sauce, crush the garlic with a pinch of salt. You should be left with a lovely paste.

● Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. Fry for about

2-3 minutes, until aromatic.

● Add the tomatoes. Pour water into one of the empty tins, give it a swill and pour the contents into the pan.

● Add the 11⁄2 teaspoons of salt and the pinch of pepper. Reduce the heat to low and leave the sauce to bubble away for 21⁄2 hours, until it’s deep red and thick. It should reduce by about one quarter.

● Stir through the sugar, vinegar, torn basil and the

chilli, if using. Set aside.

● Preheat your oven to 200°C/

180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

● Chop the green tops off the aubergines and cut them lengthways into 5mm slices. Lay them on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 10 minutes and blot dry with kitchen paper.

● Grease 3 or 4 baking trays with a little oil. Add the aubergine slices.They can overlap slightly, but if you don’t have enough baking trays, do this in batches.

● Sprinkle with olive oil and oregano, and season with salt

and pepper. Bake for about

15-20 minutes, until a little crisp around the edges.

● Put 1-2 ladlefuls of sauce in a medium ovenproof dish. Layer with the aubergines and a few pieces of basil.

● Repeat the process of sauce, aubergine slices and basil until the dish is almost full. Aim for at least 3 layers of aubergine. Finish with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

● Sprinkle the mozzarella and hard cheese over, then put it in the oven to bake for

20-25 minutes, until golden and bubbling.