Slow Roasted Baby Aubergines with Tomatoes and Peppers

Slow Roasted Baby Aubergines with Tomatoes and Peppers
Dietary: Vegan, Gluten Free
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized aubergines or 12 small slim aubergines
- 100ml olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green or red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- handful of chopped parsley
- 100ml boiling water
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.
- Heat 1/2 of the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and green pepper and fry gently for 10minutes. Then add the garlic and stir fry for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, paprika, allspice and sugar, stir well and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add half the parsley and set aside.
- Wash and dry the aubergines, leaving on the stalks.
- Make a 5 cm slit down the length of each aubergine.
- Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the aubergines, turning frequently until they soften. Be careful, as the hot oil will spit at you.
- Remove from the heat and place the aubergines in an ovenproof dish with the slits uppermost.
- Carefully prise open the slits and fill with the onion mixture.
- Spoon any left over onion mixture around the aubergines.
- Pour over the boiling water, cover and place in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 1 hour.
- Serve garnished with parsley.
Tips:
- This dish is traditionally served cold, but in our climate, best served warm or hot.
- Ideally make the day before, to let the aubergine absorb the flavours.
- If you can find the baby long aubergines, from Greek or Turkish shops are delicious and have the advantage of taking less time to cook.