Aubergine al forno with ’nduja
- Portion size: Serves 6
- Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 25-30 min
- Difficulty: easy
Aubergines are cooked in a rich tomato sauce and layered between plenty of mozzarella in this lasagne-style dish. Top with extra toasted hazelnuts before serving.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp ’nduja (we used Natoora, from Ocado; or use 50g spicy cooking chorizo, chopped)
- 3 large or 4 small aubergines
- Large bunch fresh basil
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- ½ lemon
- 200g smoked mozzarella (or use regular mozzarella)
- 100g grana padano cheese, grated
- 100g shelled hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
You’ll also need…
- 1.2 litre ovenproof baking dish
Method
- Heat the grill to high. Put the 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and the garlic in a pan and warm gently for 1-2 minutes to infuse the oil with the garlic flavour. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and ’nduja, season with salt and pepper, then simmer on a low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes until thick and reduced.
- Cut the aubergines lengthways into 0.5cm thick slices and lay them out on 2 baking sheets. Brush well on both sides with olive oil, then grill for 4-5 minutes until browned (some char is good here, so don’t worry if they catch a little at the edges). Turn and grill on the other side until tender and browned. Set aside and repeat with the second tray. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
- Roughly chop half the basil and stir into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add the sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice as needed.
- Spread a spoonful of the tomato sauce over the base of the dish, then add a layer of aubergine slices. Add more tomato sauce, then scatter over a third of the mozzarella, a third of the grana padano and some chopped hazelnuts. Add another layer of aubergine slices, tomato sauce, half the remaining cheeses and some nuts, then finish with a layer of aubergine slices, tomato sauce and the rest of the cheeses.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then scatter over any remaining hazelnuts
and bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then
serve scattered with the rest of the basil, alongside some fresh cooked pasta, or as a side dish for roast meat.
Nutrition
- 369kcals Calories
- 27.8g (10g saturated) Fat
- 17g Protein
- 10g (9.2g sugars) Carbs
- 5.7g Fibre
- 0.7g Salt
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Reviews
Delicious and easy with the Japanese aubergines from my garden. I substituted Parmagiano-Reggiano as I could not obtain Grana Padano.
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