Roasted Aubergine & Tomato Sauce

Does that work, ‘pasta-tastic’? Probably not but, ho hum, we’re here now and ready to give ourselves a tasty treat for supper. Please note that this isn’t a recycling of the recipes – it’s a complete repurposing, which we all know is highly desirable in this age of austerity… This is a good recipe for putting in the oven while you pop out for a quick run.

Lots of people don’t like aubergines, saying they’re either too hard or too squishy. This method makes them just right – the Goldilocks of aubergine recipes, you could call it. They take about 45 minutes to cook so you won’t exactly have time to do an ultra-marathon while they’re in the oven but you’ll have chance to do a few swift turns around the block.

A while ago we posted a recipe for Roasted Aubergine with Cashew Nut Pesto. Now, there are times when two recipes can be split in separate meals and this is one such joyous occasion. Either bit can be used to make a superlatively tasty pasta sauce for when you’re carb loading before a race or a long run (substitute  baked or sweet potatoes if you’re not a big fan of pasta). Here’s the first one. The other sauce can be found here.

Roasted Aubergine & Tomato Pasta Sauce
Serves 2
Ingredients

For the roasted aubergines
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 large aubergines, halved lengthwise
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method
Roasted Aubergines
1 Preheat the oven to 220C (425F, Gas 7, Fan 200C)
2 In a shallow ovenproof dish (a roasting tin will do if you don’t have ceramic), pour the tomatoes, mix in the tomato puree and season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.
3 Cut a deep criss cross pattern in each slice of aubergine.
4 Spread the thin slices of garlic evenly on top of them and drizzle the olive oil all over the aubergines (not the tomatoes, though it doesn’t matter if some spills over the edges).
5 Cook for 45-60 minutes, until the tops are nicely browned and the aubergines are soft and starting to collapse a bit.
6 Pulse with a hand blender or in a food processor and mix into cooked pasta or serve on the side with a baked or sweet potato.

Serve with with a large green salad, preferably with some roasted beetroot in to boost your electrolytes.