Verdure
By Gennaro Contaldo
Super easy
makes 10
About the recipe
Although these aren’t quite mini pizzas (with aubergine slices for a base), they do look a bit like them and are ideal for parties or for a light meal, served with a green salad. Try and find a large round aubergine as this will give you ideal-sized slices. If you can only find the more common oval-shaped aubergines, you will probably need to use two.
Recipe From
Ingredients
1 large round purple aubergine (approx. 500g/1lb 2oz)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing and drizzling
1 garlic clove, smashed
300g (10½oz) baby plum tomatoes, cut in half
2 tsp capers
15 pitted black olives
1 x 125g (4½oz) ball of mozzarella cheese, drained and roughly chopped
sea salt
10–12 basil leaves, to garnish
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C gas mark 7.
- Cut the aubergine widthways into just under 1cm (½in.) thick slices, then prick all over with a fork and lightly brush both sides with a little olive oil.
- Arrange the slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through for even cooking.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the garlic for a minute, then add the tomatoes, capers and olives with a little salt, turn up the heat to medium-high and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened but are not mushy. Discard the garlic.
- Remove the aubergine slices from the oven and top each one with a little of the tomato sauce and mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 7–8 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted.
- Remove from the oven and serve with a basil leaf on top of each.
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