I’m a big fan of fried aubergine. So much so, that usually eat half before they reach the table, with some Lebanese bread and a pinch of salt. Yum! So basically for this recipe, you could just skip the sauce and go straight to enjoying the fried aubergine, haha! But if you want a nice side dish, I suggest starting at the very beginning. The recipe has a couple extra advantages as well: you can roast the aubergine in the oven for healthier version; you can even turn it into a full meal with some pasta, rice or quinoa.

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamico vinegar
Salt
1 aubergine
Sunflower or peanut oil to fry

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven at 200ºC.
  2. Roughly cut the peppers and discard the seeds and stem.
  3. Peel and cut the garlic in half.
  4. In an oven dish combine the peppers, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well and bake in the oven until the peppers are well done, about 25 minutes.
  5. In the meantime, cut the aubergine in 1 cm thick slices.
  6. Heat a 0,5 layer of the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the aubergine until done and brown. You only need to flip them once. If needed, add some extra oil. Lay them on kitchen paper to drain any excess oil and keep them warm.
  7. Remove the peppers from the oven and immediately blitz into a sauce in a blender. Season with salt.
  8. Place the aubergine in a serving dish, pour the sauce on top and serve warm.