Recipe | Roasted Aubergines
- Amelie
- Oct 9
- 2 min read
Pure satisfaction – the first dish that I learned to cook by Alex Crepy.
This was probably the first dish I ever learnt to cook. It’s so simple, yet so delicious. Flavours take you straight away to a little restaurant tucked away on a Greek island, perhaps a small creek in the South of France, with a chilled glass of rosé in hand.
For me, it’s very much tied to the idyllic times we spent in the South of France. Evenings were spent on the terrace, the fading sun still shining as the smell of barbecued fish took over the air. Aperitif in France always begins with a drink and something to nibble on. Aubergines became the perfect vegetable for this moment. No other vegetable says ‘Provence’ to me quite like it. The smoky creamy dip of baba ghanoush, or slices roasted and drizzled with olive oil, are the stars of family barbecues.
This dish is so simple – aubergines roasted until their flesh becomes soft and sweet, topped with a mixture of tomato, garlic, and herbs, finished with Parmesan cheese.
We prefer serving it as a starter or a side dish, alongside grilled fish or chicken, or with a sharp leafy salad and a glass of chilled rosé.
There is something about aubergines that makes me think of sunshine, sea, and salt. They have that Mediterranean flavour that fills the kitchen and brings memories of childhood holidays flooding back.
Cooking it today still fills me with the same joy. It’s simple, inexpensive and one of the most satisfying dishes of the year. What makes this dish so special to me is the nostalgia it brings: the smell of cooking, a glass of wine in hand, the terrace filled with laughter as the sun went down.
So next time the evening crisp glass of rosé fills your hand, try this one!
Roasted aubergines with tomato and Parmesan
Ingredients
2 aubergines cut in half
4 garlic cloves, each sliced into four pieces
100ml olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
250g tomatoes, skinned and diced
Sea salt crystals
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra olive oil, for finishing
½ bunch of basil, finely chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Slash the aubergines flesh with a knife, 2cm deep.
Insert the garlic cloves in the cuts, then season with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil.
Put the halves in a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven, flesh side up, for about 30 minutes.
Cut each skinned tomato into quarters.
Remove the pulp and seeds and chop the flesh into small dice. Scatter the tomato over the roasted aubergines and sprinkle each one with Parmesan.
Pop them back in the oven for another 3 minutes, until golden on top.
Arrange the aubergines on serving plates and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Serve with chopped basil and serve immediately.
