Supplies
- 1.5kg aubergines - roughly 6 large aubergines - sliced lengthways into ½ cm slices
- 1 tbsp fine salt
- 75ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
- For the tomato sauce:
- 50ml light olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 150ml Italian red wine
- 800g tinned San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 200g mozzarella, grated
- 125g parmesan, finely grated
- For the topping:
- 25g panko breadcrumbs
- 75g parmesan
- 1 tbsp light olive oil
- 10g fresh oregano, finely sliced
- 75g mozzarella, grated
- 15g basil, finely sliced
Steps
- Sprinkle the aubergines with the salt and leave in a colander to drain for half an hour.
- Preheat the grill to high and lay the aubergines in one layer on a large baking tray. Dry grill for 4 minutes on each side until the aubergines are slightly golden and floppy. Brush the slices with the olive oil and set aside.
- Heat the light olive oil in a medium pan over a medium-high heat and add the garlic. Fry for a minute, then add the wine. Bring to the boil, and cook for 2 minutes then add the tinned tomatoes, mashing with the back of the spoon or a fork. Fill one of the empty tins with water and add to the pan then stir everything together and then turn down the heat slightly. Add a little seasoning and the oregano, and simmer gently for an hour, stirring occasionally. Using a hand blender, blitz the sauce until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 180 C fan.
- Lightly grease a 27cm x 17cm baking dish and spread with a thin layer of tomato sauce, followed by a layer of the aubergines; use about ¼ of the aubergines. Add ¼ of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Add another layer of aubergines followed by the tomato sauce and cheeses’. Repeat this layering until you have used up all the aubergine, and cheeses’ you may have some tomato sauce left but this will freeze well so don’t worry.
- Mix all the topping ingredients together, except the mozzarella and basil together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the parmigiana followed by the breadcrumbs. Bake for about 1 hour, until bubbling and browned, then allow to cool slightly and sprinkle with the basil before serving.