If you are looking for a simple pesto recipe that doesn’t require a mortar and pestle or even a food processor, there’s one in the stonesoup archives. Or for something a bit different try my beetroot pesto.
If you’re feeling truly minimalist, just roast the aubergine with some olive oil and serve alone with the pesto.
The aubergine and tomato would also make an excellent sauce for pasta. Just roughly chop the cooked vegetables and stir through hot pasta.
This dish is great to make ahead and reheat when you’re ready to eat. A good one for vegetarian entertaining. Lovely with my brown rice and almond tabbouleh.
Simplest Baked Aubergine (eggplant) with Tomato & Pesto
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 jar tomato passata / puree 700g or 1 1/2lb
- 2 large eggplant (aubergine) halved lengthwise
- 8 anchovies optional
- 2 cloves garlic peeled & very finely sliced
- 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 C pesto to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C or 425F (that’s 200C or 400F for fan forced ovens).
- Pour the tomato passata into the base of a baking dish large enough to hold the aubergine halves in a single layer. Score the cut side of the aubergine in a chunky cris cross pattern. Slice a think cheek off the round side of the aubergine so it will sit flat in the dish. Place aubergine in the dish and top with anchovies if using and garlic slices. Drizzle over olive oil.
- Bake until meltingly tender, about 50 minutes to an hour. Serve warm or hot with a generous dollup of pesto on top.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
This was absolutely delicious! I have never been a fan of pesto but having never made it myself I put my trust in Jules. It was so incredibly fresh tasting and complimented the dish really well, so now I know that I DO like pesto, it’s just commercial pesto I am not a fan of.
Both recipes added to my favourites!
So glad you had that revelation about pesto Nicola!