Baked tomato and eggplant

Serving a veriety of vegetable dishes brings a new dimension to your meals. They boost the goodness content of every meal and add new taste and texture.

Baked vegetables help to include variety. Try a baked combination of eggplant and tomato for that special touch.

Serves 6

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingridients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsps vegetable oil

1 tbsp flour

5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

½-cup tomato paste

Salt and black pepper

 1 tsp mixed herbs (oregano, marjoram, rosemary)

3 medium sized eggplants, sliced

Vegetable oil for frying

100gms cheese slices

15 olives, chopped into small pieces

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3. Spread an ovenproof dish with a light film of oil. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil for a few minutes. Add the flour and continue frying until golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the salt, black pepper and herbs and cook for one minute. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 20 minutes. Pat dry with serviettes and fry in a pan for 1 minute on each side. Pour the tomato mixture into the ovenproof dish.

3. Arrange in alternating layers of eggplant and cheese slices in the dish. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper and top with the olive pieces. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven and serve hot with rice and green salad.

Cooking tips:

1. Sprinkling eggplant with salt prior to cooking helps in drawing out the bitter juices found in this vegetable. Do not peel eggplants when cooking as the purple skin is very rich in nutrients.

2. Eggplants are also known as aubergine, brinjal and biriganya.

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