Recipe: Aubergine and Goats Cheese Bake [1]

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Ingredients

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

600g canned chopped tomatoes

A pinch of sugar

Salt and black pepper

A few sprigs of fresh basil

25g butter

2 tablespoons of plain flour

250-300ml semi skimmed milk

50g mature cheddar cheese

Half a teaspoon of english mustard

2 large aubergines

3 large ripe tomatoes

150g goats cheese

Servings

4

Person

Preparation

1

Peel the onion and the garlic and chop both very finely. Grate the cheese.
2

To make the tomato sauce, gently sauté the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and the sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3

Blend the sauce, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and stir in a handful of chopped basil leaves just before adding to the dish.
4

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Chop the butter into small pieces and melt in a saucepan, then gradually stir in the flour. Add 250ml milk a little at a time, stirring constantly to make a smaooth sauce.
5

Add the grated cheese and mustard, stir well and cook gently for a few minutes. Season the cheese sauce with salt and black pepper and adjust the thickness if necessary by adding more milk.
6

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, 160 degrees fan oven and heat the grill. Lightly butter a baking dish.
7

Cut the aubergines into fairly thin slices, brush with olive oil, season with salt and black pepper and put under the grill for about 3 minutes. Turn them over, brush with oil again and grill for a further 2-3 minutes.
8

Slice the tomatoes very thinly. Cut the goats cheese into thin slices too.
9

Spoon a third of the sauce into the bottom of the dish, cover with a third of the aubergine then a third of the sliced tomatoes. Repeat these layers twice more. Spoon the cheese sauce all over the top then finish with a layer of goats cheese.
10

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.

Cooks Note

A delicious autumn supper dish, with layers of soft aubergine, ripe tomatoes, thick herby tomato sauce and creamy cheese sauce topped with tangy goats cheese. Serve with a simple fresh green salad.

Some goats cheeses are hard to slice; don't worry, just crumble it on instead. Home made tomato sauce can easily be made in advance or, if you're really short of time, you could buy a ready made sauce.

I usually grill or bake aubergine to reduce the amount of oil I use, but you can pan fry it if you prefer; it does taste good! I like to use basil in this dish but you could use other herbs instead, such as thyme or rosemary. Remember to choose appropriate cheeses if cooking for vegetarians.