Last night I rustled up a new side dish to go with some roast chicken. It was very easy to make and consisted mostly of pantry staples. It is a fairly fiery dish, but if you’re into the added spice, just leave the chilies out. As I am going to a friends house for lasagne tonight, the thought crossed my mind that this ‘side dish’ could also work perfectly well as a pasta topping, or as a filling for a vegetarian lasagne.
Ingredients:
1-2 Aubergines sliced and chopped into 1x2cm size pieces approximately
1 large onion, chopped roughly, with thick slices.
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar (about 2 tablespoons)
A good amount of olive oil (about 4 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper
herbs: a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a pinch of dried basil (fresh basil should be added after).
Set the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Layer the slices of aubergine on a tray, sprinkle with salt and wait about 5-10 minutes before rinsing. This is not really necessary with the large purple brinjals as they are not as bitter as some of the other types. Toss them into a oven-proof dish with most of the olive oil. Add in the onion, garlic, chillies, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar and seasoning. Give it a good stir around. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top. Bake for a total of 45 minutes to and hour, turning the goods around twice at even intervals.
Just another wheat-, dairy-, nut-, egg-free meal :-)
Serve hot!
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