Aubergine gratin

The first time I tasted anything like this was at a school retreat in Mauritius. We were at a beautiful hotel in north of the island and had lunch after a conference. Imagine this, a huge pool, palm trees, the sea is a minute away, water flowing over pebbles as you walk to your table, an air of relaxation. The blend of the beautiful atmosphere and divine taste was incredible! I had to make this! A friend of mine told me that her mother had a similar recipe, and I've adapted it in many ways since. A huge thanx to Laetitia and her mom, my taste buds have been marveled ever since ;o)

Today I made a vegetarian version of the recipe that I haven't tried before, i must say it turned out delicious! I might try another order in placing the ingredients next time, and if it's better, I'll let you know! This meal take about 2 hours to prepare and 30 minutes in the oven, but really is worth the time spent in the kitchen. It delicious as a left over as well.

Ingredients

1 Large aubergine
5 Round tomatoes (the ones I used are not very big, if yours are quite big 2 might do the job)
1 Tin diced tomatoes
Thyme
Parsley
1/2 Onion
1 Clove garlic
Olive oil
Flour
Butter
Milk
Salt and pepper
Grated mixed cheese (mine included mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar, as long as you have some mozzerella it should be great)

Bread, butter and side salad to serve

An alternative can include minced beef, and/or lasagne sheets

• Wash and slice the aubergine. Fill a big bowl with water and some salt, place the aubergine in the salt water for a few minutes, try to place the aubergine in a way that they are submerged, and turn if necessary so that all parts soak. The water will turn a brown colour as shown in the photo above, this removes the bitterness.
• Put a generous amount of oil into a big pan on medium heat. Put some flour into a plate and dab both sides the aubergine slices into the flour before putting them into the pan to fry (shown above). Do not put on high heat, otherwise the aubergine will burn and not cook inside. Raw aubergine is not pleasant.
• When the aubergine becomes soft, remove from the pan and place on paper toweling to remove excess oil (shown above). Be careful not to overcook the aubergine, otherwise they will become moushy and may fall apart. The texture will not be very nice.

•  Carry on cooking you aubergines slices (this will take several batches), you will probably need to add more oil for every batch. Start on the rougaille (creole sauce) while continuing to cook the aubergine slices.
• Heat a little olive oil in a smaller pan. Add sliced onion, thyme, parsley, and garlic. This is when you would add in the minced beef if you would like to include it.

• A few minutes later, add 2 chopped tomatoes. When they have cooked a bit add the diced tinned tomatoes and some salt. Put it on low heat and let it simmer. Stir every few minutes and add some water once or twice when the mixture becomes thicker to keep it more liquid.
• Preheat the oven at about 200 C.
• Now the sauce blanche. A simple recipe is to add the same amount of butter and flour. Today I added about 2-3 table spoons of each. Let the butter melt and then stir in the flour. Use a whisk and keep stirring. Add milk little by little while stirring constantly. Once your sauce is ready, set aside and add salt and pepper, and then cheese. Do not add the cheese if it is boiling. Today I did not add cheese to the sauce, but if you do, make the sauce a little thinner than you want it because the cheese will thicken it.
• Slice the remaining 3 tomatoes.
•  Spread the rougaille over the bottom of an oven dish, place the aubergine slices over this, and the tomato slices over them (as shown below). Salt and pepper the tomatoes and pour the sauce blanche over them. Sprinkle your cheese over the top and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown. If you would like to add include lasagne sheets you will need a deeper pan and about double of everything, place one at the bottom of the dish, then thinly layer the ingredients as mentioned above, add another layer of lasagne sheets, another layer of all ingredients, a third layer of lasagne sheets and a little white sauce over that layer, topping with cheese. For the lasagne recipe I suggest that you add some cheese to the sauce blanche, and no extra cheese within the layers, but just a sprinkle on the top of the dish. Having ingredients of liquid form on top of each layer of lasagne sheets means that it should be fine to not precook the sheets, and simply follow time and temperature oven instructions on the box.
• Prepare a side salad and warm some bread in the oven for a minute or two before serving with butter.

Enjoy!!