EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

serves / 6-8

I’ve made the traditional version of this dish so many times using so much cheese. It amazes me that when I simply leave the cheese out, rather than trying to substitute it, the veggies stand out strongly. You can really taste the richness of the tomatoes and, to be honest, I prefer this version to the traditional one! Although this is delicious to eat straight out of the oven, it freezes well too. Extra virgin olive oil, for greasing 4 eggplants (aubergine) (about 2kg in total) 3 cups (750ml) tomato basil sauce large handful (1 cup) basil leaves 1 cup (70g) homemade breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs Sea salt and cracked black pepper 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 5cm deep, 20cm by 28cm oven-proof baking dish with a little olive oil. 2Use a sharp knife to remove the green end of the eggplants, then cut each lengthways into 1cm slices.

3 Pre- heat a barbecue or grill plate on high. Cook the eggplant slices for three minutes each side or until grill marks are visible and the eggplant starts to brown.

4 To assemble, spread a fifth of the tomato sauce over the base of the prepared baking dish, then tear four or five basil leaves over the sauce. Top with a fifth of the eggplant slices (they don’t need to overlap but try not to have big gaps).

5 Spread another fifth of the tomato sauce over the eggplant, followed by some more torn basil leaves, a sprinkling of breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. 6Repeat the layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant, tomato sauce, basil and breadcrumbs. 7Drizzle with the olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.

RECIPE / Tobie Puttock