Eat Write Love
NICKY TORODE & SONJA COLMAN of Creative Concoctions – a local social enterprise, boosting creative health
Who doesn’t love the look of this glossy, wine-red vegetable with its little green hat? It’s remarkably lightweight, superbly versatile and its flavour gets more intense over time. A winner in anyone’s cookbook!
Make your mouth water with this quick-and-easy flavoursome dish, Aubergine Parmigiana. Packed with nutrients, not pasta. Just right for the night drawing in!
Journaling #1:
- Ode to Aubergine [7 mins]
- Let’s get in the mood for our shiny friend.
- Write 10 lines starting with Oh, aubergine….
- We can declare our love, admit our misgivings, confess why we left them on the shelf!
- Let it all out!
Fun Facts
- Aubergines are technically berries and are related to the tomato – both are part of the nightshade family.
- Known as eggplant in the US because the variant grown there originally was small, round and white!
- In Japan, the eggplant is one of the happy omens for the New Year after Mount Fuji and the falcon.
- Nutrition info:
- Vitamin C – supports immunity and protects against oxidative damage
- Vitamin K – supports heart health
- Potassium – supports muscles and heart health
- Manganese – supports bone health and stabilises blood sugar
- Folate – supports brain health and nerve function
Aubergine Parmigiana
(Serves 6)
Aubergines should not be eaten raw, but there are many ways to cook them, including in this slow-cooked, Italian dish. This version has a lot of veg tucked away in the sauce – it is a great way of adding nutrition and flavour, although you can of course just do a simple tomato, onion and garlic sauce if you prefer.
Ingredients:
- 3 large aubergines
- 1 onion
- 1 stick celery
- 1 carrot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 500g passata
- Dried oregano
- 2 vegetable stock cubes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 250g mozzarella
- Salt and pepper
- Green Salad to serve
Method:
- Warm oven to 180° centigrade.
- Slice aubergines into ½ cm thick slices and place on baking sheets – rub in oil and a little salt and bake for around 10 minutes, turning half way through. You may need to do this in batches, depending on how large your oven is.
- Once the aubergines have cooked, put them on a plate and leave to one side as you make up the sauce.
- Whilst the aubergine is pre-cooking, start making your sauce: blitz up onion, garlic, celery, carrot (or chop very finely, or grate).
- Warm some olive oil gently in a large pan and add the vegetables to cook slowly. Keep the heat low and add some salt.
- Check your aubergine and turn, or remove, from the oven / add a new batch in for cooking.
- Once your vegetables are softened, add your tomatoes, passata and tomato puree and mix in well.
- Add oregano, stock cubes and season.
- Keep stirring regularly, but not constantly. Gently simmer for as long as you can – the benefits from the tomatoes are increased through long, slow cooking, and it brings the flavour out
- Check your aubergines again if you are baking them in batches.
- You can keep your aubergines covered on one side for as long as you need whilst the sauce simmers.
- Taste and add seasoning, or herbs to your taste. You want the sauce to be relatively loose, so add in extra tomatoes or some hot water, if it becomes too thick.
- Once you are happy with your sauce, turn off the heat.
- Take your baking dish and put a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom. Next a layer of aubergine, followed by a layer of torn pieces of the mozzarella. Repeat three times, finishing with a layer of the tomato sauce and mozzarella on the top.
- Bake in the oven for approx. 25 minutes – you want a nice golden-brown top.
- Remove from the oven and leave to stand for around 10-15 minutes – it will be incredibly hot!
- Serve with a green salad, and granary bread for mopping OR pop into the freezer / fridge when cooled for eating at a later date..
Substitutes
- Use anything you have left over to add to the base: Courgette, fennel, pepper, mushrooms
- No oregano? Use mixed herbs, or dried basil, or any left-over pesto.
- If you’ve got fresh tomatoes going soft, they are a great addition to any tomato sauce like this.
Storage
This dish is fantastic for making in advance, it freezes brilliantly – just remove from the freezer a couple of hours before you want to eat it. Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.Keep the top covered in foil to avoid burning.
It can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. It often tastes even better the next day as the flavours have had time to mature and develop.
JOURNALING #2
- Wasn’t that a tasty dish [7 mins]
- This dish pops with flavour.
- Write into a memory of a dish that you tried, perhaps for the first time and perhaps reluctantly, that surprised you. As an adult – or even as a child.
Reflect
- Write a saying that reminds you of the joy of surprise!
- Eg Don’t judge a veg by its shape!
JOURNALING # 3 Action!
Supermarket Surprise! [5 mins]
- Next time you go food shopping buy something small that you haven’t
eaten in a while. - A spice? A veg? A packet of nuts or dried fruit?
- Afterwards, journal into your experience of choosing, of eating, of imagining what else you might do with it.
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