Greek-Style Eggplant (Aubergine)
Eggplant baked in a tomato, garlic and herb sauce with good olive oil. Easy, healthy and cheap — a light dinner full of flavor.
Salt the eggplant (aubergine) and leave it in a colander for 20 minutes before cooking. That draws out the bitterness and the excess water; skipped, the dish comes out both bitter and watery.
Want to turn it into a substantial main? Use these same eggplants for the queen of Mediterranean cooking: moussaka.
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants (aubergines)
- 400 g plum tomatoes (ripe fresh ones, or 1 can of whole tomatoes, chopped)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional: 80 g feta or firm white cheese, crumbled, to finish
Method
- 1
Cut the eggplants into thick slices of about 2 cm, or into large cubes. Sprinkle with fine salt and leave them in a colander for 20 minutes to draw out the bitterness. Then rinse under cold water and dry them thoroughly with a clean cloth.
- 2
In a large skillet (frying pan), heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Brown the eggplant slices for a couple of minutes per side, just until they take a little color — they do not need to cook through here. Set them aside in an ovenproof dish.
- 3
In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion and the garlic until soft and translucent. Add the chopped tomato, the oregano, salt and pepper. Cook the sauce gently for 10 minutes.
- 4
Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the eggplant in the dish. Cover with foil and bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more, until the eggplant is completely tender.
- 5
Out of the oven, scatter over the chopped fresh parsley and, if you are using it, the crumbled feta. Good hot or at room temperature.
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