Directions

• Heat a healthy dash of olive oil in a pot until hot. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Fry until glazed.
• Deglaze the pan with a swig of balsamic or red wine, add a shot of maple syrup, a good helping of tomato puree and a few shakes of paprika powder. If you don’t have maple syrup, sugar will do. Stir vigorously, adding a dash of water if necessary.
• Throw in a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or whichever fresh herbs you have to hand. A bay leaf would also work. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer, stirring regularly until everything has reduced to a thick paste.
• Add the canned tomatoes along with around 500 ml water, bring to a brief boil and then leave to simmer for at least 40 minutes.
• While the sauce simmers, slice the aubergines lengthwise into slabs roughly 1 cm thick and fry these in olive oil until soft and barely browning.
• Check the sauce for flavour – season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread a layer of your sauce in the bottom of an oven dish and lay out the sliced aubergines on top. Sprinkle lightly with grated parmesan. Repeat until you have used up all the sauce and aubergine, making sure that each layer of aubergine is evenly covered with sauce and parmesan.
• If you want to amp up the flavor, distribute two or three more cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed, within the folds of the aubergine.
• Tear the mozzarella into chunks and distribute across the top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a twist of black pepper.
• Into the oven at 180–200 °C until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella has melted.
• Serve with a green salad and thick slices of a good bread, lightly toasted in a frying pan with olive oil and salt. Crack open a bottle of red, get Donny on the speakers and tuck in – you’ll be hearing voices in no time!