Cheesy Eggplant Bake

Tuesday May 29, 2012

Cheesy eggplant bake:
Serves 4

Prep time 20 minutes plus standing time Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced into 1cm rounds

Cooking salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon dried ground oregano

600g (1 1/2 tins) chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons sugar

500g fresh ricotta cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup grated tasty cheese

Preheat oven to 180C.

Lay the eggplant on paper towel and sprinkle with salt. After 15 minutes turn over and repeat with the other side. Rinse and dry.

Heat the oil in a chef's pan or large frying pan over medium high heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste and stir for a further minute. Add the tomatoes, oregano and sugar. Simmer for around 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/4. The time this takes will depend on the pan being used.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, pepper, salt and nutmeg.

Heat a char grill or grill pan to a high heat. Spray or brush the eggplant slices with oil and char grill for 2 minutes on each side.

In a 20cm square baking dish, layer 1/2 the tomato sauce, followed by 1/2 the eggplant slices, followed by 1/2 the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 the tasty cheese over the top. Repeat the layers a second time.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown. Serve with steamed green vegetables.