Italian Baked Aubergine

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Lots of exciting things are happening at
Deliciously Directionless. New followers, new events and a new look blog page! I
have changed the design of this page so that I can include more information – now you can easily find me on Facebook, Twitter and other affiliate web sites.
You can subscribe to my blog or search it for favourite recipes – everything is
available on a single page. I hope you like this new look; do let me know.

On my Facebook page I recently ran a little
event called #YourChoiceMonday. This will be a monthly affair and on the 1st
Monday of every month you can choose a dish that you would like to see on this
blog. I’ll cook it & post a recipe! This month, one of my followers requested
for Almond
Biscotti, so I will be baking them over the weekend and posting the
recipe next week. You too can be a part of this interactive event. Just head
over to my Facebook page, ‘like’ it and you will be updated of forthcoming
events.

Now after all that promotional stuff, let’s
get down to today’s recipe! I am always looking for Italian recipes to try and
I find that many of them are really simple, use just a few ingredients and rely
on fresh herbs for flavours. Aubergine
(or eggplant or brinjal or melanzana
as the Italians call it) is widely used in Italian cooking – in salads,
appetisers and mains. This recipe for Italian Baked Aubergines came from
Good Food Magazine’s August issue (India edition) and is quite easy. While on
the subject, do subscribe to the magazine; it’s an investment for anyone who
loves cooking!

This recipe serves 2 people.

You’ll need:

2 Aubergines (use the long, slender variety)
4 medium sized Tomatoes, grated or blanched
& peeled
3-4 cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil
A small bunch of Basil leaves
Salt & Pepper

How to:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Slice the aubergines into halves (length-wise)
and score them on the fleshy side.
Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle some
olive oil on top.

Bake for 30 minutes. You can cover it with
foil if you wish.
While the aubergines are baking, in a pan
roast the chopped garlic and then add olive oil. Lightly fry; they should not
turn brown.
Add the tomatoes and cook down. Add most of
the basil leaves and give it a quick stir.

Remove the aubergines from the oven and top
with the tomato sauce.

Grate some parmigiano
over them and return to the oven.
Bake for another 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven & garnish with the
rest of the basil leaves. Serve as an appetiser or a side dish.