Aubergine à la Bordelaise

• Pre-heat the oven to 220C (fan 200C)

Preparation…

• Aubergine– cut off and discard the top stem then and slice the aubergine lengthwise into 5 or 6 equal slices. Lay them in the colander and sprinkle with salt both sides.Leave them for 10 minutes

use this time to prepare some of the other ingredients:

• Onion – peel and finely slice
• Garlic– peel and finely slice
• Tomato – peel with a sharp serrated knife, cut it into quarters and push out the seeds which can be discarded, along with the peel (or keep for a stock or soup). Dice the flesh into 4-5mm pieces and set it aside.

Continue with method:

• Back with the aubergines – pour 50ml olive oil into the baking tray, sprinkle salt and pepper into the oil, then lay the aubergines in the oil and coat them both sides. You might need to add a bit more oil and seasoning. Bake for 10 minutes until browning then turn the slices over and return to the oven until browned nicely – maybe another 5-10 minutess
• While the aubergine is cooking, heat some olive oil in a small pan and fry the onions and garlic gently on medium heat with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They should be soft and slightly browned
• Grate or process the stale bread into breadcrumbs. Chop the parsley.
• When the aubergine is cooked remove the tray from the oven, and change the heat source to direct heat (no fan) or top heat, or medium grill

Building:

• Upon each slice of aubergine build the layers: first of all roughly divide your ingredients into shares per slice. Spread on some onion mixture, then diced tomato, then the breadcrumbs and finally sprinkle with parsley. Return the tray to the top of the oven to re-heat and to brown the breadcrumbs*. Watch carefully so they don't burn. When ready, remove and sprinkle with more parsley and serve.
• *TIP- for extra crispy breadcrumbs, massage them with a little olive oil before using them.

Serving suggestion

• We used two types of rice, venere and rojo, mixed and cooked together. Good with a green salad as well.