Eggplant season is upon us and we’re making the most of it. This is our take on a lighter eggplant parmigiana using ricotta in the filling which makes it delicious and creamy. Paired with a fresh rocket salad
This Week
2 Dec - 8 Dec
Meal Prep Guide
Roast the eggplant (allow to cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge).
Ingredients:
- 3 large or 4 small eggplants
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan bake. Slice the eggplant into aprox ½ cm rounds. Pop on a baking tray (you’ll probably need 2 trays with this amount of eggplant) and season with salt and pepper and drizzle/brush over a generous amount of olive oil.
- Pop in the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Make the tomato sauce (allow to cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge).
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion (finely diced)
- 3 Tbsp fresh herbs or 1 Tbsp dried herbs (chopped finely)
- 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 Tbsp capers (finely chopped)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup of water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a medium-sized pan over a medium heat; add the onions, crushed garlic, and herbs. Cook for 5 minutes or so until the onions have softened. Add the capers and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and water, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes until it has reduced slightly and developed in flavour.
Tips
- You can BBQ the eggplant slices instead of roasting them if you’d prefer.
- When we roast / BBQ eggplant we like to pour some olive oil into a ramekin and brush the olive oil over the rounds. This ensures an even and coating of olive oil which is beneficial for even cooking.
Shortcuts
Vegetables
- You can serve alongside some steamed greens instead of the rocket salad.
Other
- Top with some breadcrumbs for a delicious, crispy topping.
Ingredients
- 3 large or 4 small eggplants
- 250g ricotta
- 1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 brown onion (finely diced)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 Tbsp capers (chopped finely)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup of water
- Salt and pepper
- 125g mozzarella (sliced)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Salad
- 1 bag of rocket (120g)
- 1 avocado (diced)
- ¼ cucumber (diced)
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (shaved)
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan bake. Slice the eggplant into approx ½ cm rounds. Pop on a baking tray (you’ll probably need 2 trays with this amount of eggplant) and season with salt and pepper and drizzle/brush over a generous amount of olive oil.
- Pop in the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
- In the meantime, you can make the tomato sauce. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a medium-sized pan over medium heat; add the onions, crushed garlic, and herbs. Cook for 5 minutes or so until the onions have softened. Add the capers and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and water, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes until it has reduced slightly and developed in flavour.
- Once the eggplant has cooked you can start to assemble the eggplant parmigiana. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the tomato sauce to a medium-sized baking dish then add a layer of the roasted eggplant, followed by dollops of the ricotta and a sprinkle of parmesan, then more of the tomato sauce continue doing this in layers until you’ve used everything.
- Top with some slices of mozzarella and then cover with tinfoil. Allow to cook for 30 minutes before removing the tinfoil and cooking for another 10 minutes.
- While the parmigiana is cooking, assemble the salad, add the rocket, cucumber and avocado to a large salad bowl or platter. To make the dressing add all of the ingredients to a glass jar and shake well to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat, top with shaved parmesan.
- Serve the eggplant parmigiana alongside the salad and enjoy!
Variations
Vegetables
- You can serve alongside some steamed greens instead of the rocket salad.
Other
- Top with some breadcrumbs for a delicious, crispy topping.
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