The aubergine–eggplant–melanzane–enigmatic gentle giant of a vegetable.
Lovely conceit from Mark Bitman in The New York Times demonstrating its versatility.
Not included in the diagram but a useful addition to the repetoire, this tortino recipe is adapted from Paola Gavin’s Italian Vegetarian Cookery.
A tortino is a sort of soufflé crossed with a no-pastry pie–handy for those who need to watch their intake of refined carbohydrates.
It’s a little labour intensive but pays off.
600/700 gms aubergine [eggplant]–peeled and sliced thin
olive oil for brushing
2 1/2 oz tomato sauce–see below
2 oz grated parmesan
5 eggs
salt and pepper
Lightly salt the aubergine slices and leave them to drain for at least an hour.
Set the oven to 190C
Dry the slices in between sheets of kitchen paper.
Oil a couple of shallow oven trays.
Lightly brush the slices with olive oil and lay them out on the trays.
Bake for 5 minutes each side on the top shelf of the oven–one tray at a time.
Heat a cast iron grill pad to hot.
Transfer the slices onto the grill pad and char them for a couple of minutes each side.
(The grilling adds a smokey taste; you could fry the slices or just leave the slices in the oven longer but they must cook to tender.)
Oil a shallow oven dish and layer the cooked slices in the bottom.
Whisk the cheese and the tomato sauce together and season with salt and pepper.
Whisk the eggs and stir them well into the mixture.
Pour this over the aubergines.
Make sure the mix covers the aubergine slices.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Quick Tomato sauce
A handy standby sauce.
I made this in a jiffy this morning and used 2 1/2 oz of it for the tortino leaving easily enough for our pasta tonight–giving me time to follow some of today’s stage in the Tour de France!
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large tin of tomatoes–drained of their juice and roughly chopped.
2 garlic cloves–peeled and thinly sliced.
salt and pepper.
2 sprigs of rosemary–chopped.
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the garlic and the rosemary.
Soften the garlic, being careful not to let it burn–a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes
and cook over a high heat–stirring often–until the loose liquid has evaporated and little pockmarks appear on the surface.
If you can part the Red Sea—running a spoon through it–it’s done.
Season with salt and pepper.
Voila!
Robin Ellis 
Looks great and very tasty too! I love the ethos behind your recipes Robin – eat well but don’t be a slave to the culinary art! Especially useful for m- since I embarked on a Masters via distance learning two years ago, but still have to find time to cook and eat!
Thank you, Robin! For me this dish will be just what “the doctor would order”. And a string of accolades as well: healthy, economical, tasty and easy to prepare. Thank you also for the tomato sauce. It’s excellent when one only needs “a lick” of it…
Hi Robin — how big is the shallow oven dish that you use?
Good question Chris.
I just measured it.
7.5 inches wide, 2 inches deep.
Let me know how it goes!
I’m making it tomorrow for supper; I’ll let you know!
It was really good, Robin! I used an 8 inch cast iron skillet, which worked very well. I might try it with just a tiny bit more tomato sauce next time, just to see how it comes out.
Thanks Chris–good to hear it went down well.
Mmmm—I’ll have to try this one!! Eggplant, cheese–perfect combo! 🙂
We’re “eating seasonally” despite the UN-seasonal (rainy) weather; we just can’t get enough fresh strawberries & corn on the cob, right now! We even had our tuna fish salad “a la anglaise,” Robin–with corn mixed into it. It’s a nice change from celery. It’s so great to have time to COOK!!
Cheers & hugs!
Hi Robin,
Really lovely……..but can the leftovers (not much admittedly) be frozen?
You could try–but why not eat them a couple of days later from the fridge.
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Aubergines under 1€ a kilo down here – and that’s before the allotment gets going so, thank you! A brilliant recipe. Is it in one your books or do I need to save this post? What happened to the Independence day poss use of parsley? I struggle to use this herb so this salad is appreciated to get me over my dread of the herb brought on by school dinner parsley sauce. All best wishes from CdV
Not in the books–yet!
Okay, must make this, but, I cannot do it without roasted onion and garlic, too. A meatless, and much more friendly moussakaish dish. Yum, thanks!