Eat for Less: Fried Aubergine with Tomato Sauce

 

This was our favourite dish when we stayed with my grandmother. My sister and I will eat until our bellies were about to explode and my grandmother will look at us approvingly. You see, for her feeding people was one of the best things you could do for them.

Fried aubergine with tomato sauce is a very traditional summer dish in southern Europe. There are variations but the idea is the same: mix aubergine, tomato and garlic.

I cooked it today and it is as delicious as I remember. I also made small modifications in my grandmother’s recipe so that preparing this dish meets one of my main criteria for cooking – if it takes more than 15 minutes, don’t bother. (Strictly speaking, this is 15 minutes of preparation or presence time. With fried aubergine you have to be there all the time.)

But you can try things for yourself.

Here is what you need:

• 2 aubergines
• 2 boxes of passata (500g each)
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• A bit of flour
• Vegetable oil for frying (this is one of the cases where vegetable oil is definitely better than olive oil)

Here is how to prepare the dish:

Wash and dry the aubergine. Cut it in round slices that look like this:

Pour a finger and a half of oil in a large pan and put on high flame to heat.

(Frying the aubergine in very hot oil means that it absorbs less of the oil. You can also make sure that the dish is not very oily by placing the ready, fried aubergine on a plate covered with kitchen towel before moving in a deep dish.)

Roll the aubergine slices in flour and put in the pan. When one side is nicely pink, turn the slices. (It takes couple of minutes frying each side for the aubergine to be ready.)

While frying the aubergine, pour the tomato passata in a deep pan. Add a drop of water and the pressed garlic. Cover and let simmer on low heat. (Don’t put any oil in the tomato; the aubergine is oily enough.)

Spread the fried aubergine in a deep dish and pour the hot tomato sauce over it.

Let the dish ‘rest’ for 30 minutes.

It can be served warm or cold.

You can serve it with rice or with freshly baked, homemade bread.

This is eat for less at its best because:

• The dish is really inexpensive. This recipe is 6 or 8 servings (depending on how generous you decide to be) and costs £1.80.
• It is quick and easy to prepare.
• It is very impressive starter for a dinner party.

And my grandmother grew the aubergine and tomatoes in her garden. No wonder she indulged us so often.