Aubergine Gateau with Cherry Tomatoes - sunshine on a plate
This is an adaptation of a recipe from Gordon Ramsay makes it easy. It’s a yummy dish of layers of roasted aubergines, and cherry tomatoes fried with butter, garlic and basil, topped with Parmesan cheese. It’s a perfect little recipe and I love it. But I wondered how I could make a more heart healthy version of it.
I used olive oil rather than butter and substituted the Parmesan cheese with the yoghurt-egg topping from Cornucopia’s Mushroom Moussaka. The result is a different dish but it is another Mediterranean style dish, full of heart healthy goodness and yumminess.
Aubergine Gateau with Cherry Tomatoes
Yield: 4 - 6 servings
Suitable for: Gluten-free diet
Ingredients:
- 2 - 3 aubergines
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- olive oil
- 100g whole Greek yoghurt
- 1 large egg
- sprig of fresh mint
- nutmeg
- 750g cherry tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- small bunch of basil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Aubergine Layer
Turn on the oven to 200 C. Line one or two large baking trays with baking paper. Top and tail the aubergines and slice into thin slices. Mix the turmeric, garam masala with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Arrange the sliced aubergine on the baking tray(s). Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle the spices on the slices. Put in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.Yoghurt Topping
Crack the egg into a bowl. Whisk until the yolk and white are smoothly combined. Mix in the yoghurt. Pick the leaves off the sprig of mint and slice them as thinly as possible. Stir them into the bowl with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Grate in a generous amount of nutmeg. Leave bowl aside until everything else is ready.Cherry Tomato Layer
Heat a half-tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the cherry tomatoes. After a minute or two, use a potato masher to gently crush the tomatoes. It’s important to do this gently as otherwise the juice from the tomatoes flies everywhere. When the tomatoes are crushed, stir in the garlic with a pinch of salt. Let the heat soften the tomatoes. Stir frequently to stop them browning. When it starts to resemble a sauce, soft and lighter in colour, turn off the heat. Tear in the basil leaves.Assemble the Aubergine Gateau & Bake
Turn the oven on to 180° C. Grease an 8 or 9″ oven dish with a little olive oil. Line the bottom with a third of the aubergine slices. Top the slices with a third of the tomato sauce. Repeat until you have used up all the aubergine slices and tomato sauce. Pour or spoon the yoghurt mix over the top. It’s quite difficult to spread so be sure to spoon or pour it over as evenly as possible. It doesn’t matter if you don’t cover all the tomato sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until the top has solidified and has browned just a little. Leave to cool for at 15 minutes before serving. Can be eaten hot or cold.
Enjoy!
