With just seven ingredients, RecipeTin’s Mediterranean baked eggplant is your new midweek go-to

Name: With just seven ingredients, RecipeTin’s Mediterranean baked eggplant is your new midweek go-to
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 as a meal
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 2 large eggplants*; 1 tsp cooking salt; 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 80g fresh goat’s cheese or Danish feta; 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh basil

RecipeTin Eats

March 27, 2023

Mediterranean baked eggplant - it’s like a dip, for dinner!Nagi Maehashi

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:4 as a meal

Think creamy eggplant flesh amped up by a bold-flavoured tomato salsa, with briny pops coming from capers and olives that mingle with creamy goat’s cheese.
I was going to be sensible and suggest a leafy green salad on the side. But I couldn’t go past crostini. Dunk and scoop it up, like a dip, except you get to call it dinner.

And with just seven ingredients (I’m not counting olive oil, salt and pepper) and only a little hands-on effort, I have a strong feeling this will be your new favourite eggplant recipe.

The SOS checklist

Feeds 4 for under $20 (easily!) ✔
Fewer than 12 ingredients ✔

Ingredients

2 large eggplants*
1 tsp cooking salt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
80g fresh goat’s cheese or Danish feta
2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh basil

Mediterranean tomato sauce

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
800g canned crushed tomato
2 tbsp baby capers
⅓ cup kalamata olive slices
½ tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Crostini

1 rustic breadstick, cut into 12 slices on the diagonal
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Step 1
Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise, then use a small sharp knife to score 2cm diamonds in the flesh. Take care not to cut through the skin. Rub the flesh of each eggplant with ¼ teaspoon salt, opening the cuts to get salt into the crevices. Set aside for 30 minutes, then squeeze gently like a sponge to remove excess water.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Step 3
Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels and place on the prepared tray. Drizzle each eggplant with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft (really big eggplants will take a little longer).
Step 4
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until light golden. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes, until it becomes a thick, chunky sauce.
Step 5
Spread the sauce on the eggplant, crumble goat’s cheese over and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes.
Step 6
Prepare the crostini by brushing or drizzling olive oil on both sides of the bread slices. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Put into the oven for the last 10 minutes of the eggplant baking time, until fully crisp.
Step 7
Sprinkle the chopped basil over the eggplant and serve with crostini on the side, using them for dunking.

*Note: This recipe will work for eggplants of any size. Bake until the flesh is soft before topping with the tomato sauce. I use 2 large eggplants, which serves 4 as a meal.