| Recipe | Aubergine Bake

It is cosy food season here in London. Stews and oven cooked goodness are required to keep us warm from the inside. Here is a side dish that I served up last week, we really enjoyed tucking into the comforting gooey tastiness. Hope you will too!

| Ingredients |

2 large aubergines
1 pack of mozzarella
1 small onion
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
500g passata
Olive oil
1 Bay leaf
1 low salt chicken/veg stock cube
2 tbsp White flour
100ml Water
100ml Red wine
2 tbsp Ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Sugar (optional)
Parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper

| Method |

1. Finely chop the carrot, onion, and garlic. Parboil the carrots for about 5 minutes.

2. Peel and cut the eggplant length ways into 1 cm thick slices and soak in water to remove any bitterness.

3. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. When the aroma begins to release itself, add the onions and gently fry till they begin to become transparent. Add the carrot and continue cooking.

4. Pour in the red wine and cook off the alcohol. Add passata, consomme, bay leaf, parsley, ketchup and Japanese Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add sugar if you find the passatta too sharp.

5. In a measuring jug, mix the flour with 100 ml of water and add to the pan till all lumps are gone then add to the vegetable sauce. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes at then set aside.

6. Drain and dry the aubergine with kitchen roll or a clean tea towel. Heat a frying pan with olive oil and brown both sides of the aubergine slices. Once they have slightly browned, cover with a lid and steam for 3 minutes.

7. Preheat your oven to 250°C

8. Take an oven dish and line the base with the aubergine slices. Spoon on the tomato sauce and then top with the mozzarella.

9. Bake oven for about 10 minutes keeping a close eye on the cheese. When it's browned it is ready!

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