Aubergine & Courgette Bake

I first made aubergine parmigiana last year while following the ketogenic diet and I fell in love with it. It was everything you needed while following a diet; it was – healthy, hearty, cheesy, vegetarian, and absolutely delicious – which is when I had the idea for this Aubergine and Courgette bake.

After completing day 2 of the insanity workout I needed something – healthy, hearty, cheesy, vegetarian, and absolutely delicious and since I had no parmesan here to make, aubergine parmesan, I decided to combine the aubergine with some courgette, tomato sauce, cheddar and mozzarella, and to my pleasure, it was amazing; although there is always room for improvement – a little cheese sauce would have been lovely, which is exactly what I will add next time. 

Ingredients

• Courgette
• Aubergine 
• Olive Oil
• Chopped Tomatoes
• Basil
• Garlic
• Himalayan Salt
• Cheese
• Mozzarella

Instructions

Slice both your courgette and aubergine into thin slices and place the aubergine on a separate plate with some salt, add a chopping board or another plate on top, then leave for 20 minutes – this will remove any moisture, or bitterness that the aubergine may have.

When you’re waiting for the aubergine you can prepare your tomato sauce. The recipe I have is for a convenient tomato sauce, but if you would prefer to make your own then you can do that - I have a recipe for a homemade tomato sauce coming up soon. 

In a bowl add your chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic, basil and a pinch of Himalayan salt, and combine. Next you will need to wash the salt off the aubergine and then dry the slices with a paper towel. Brush your aubergine slices with some olive oil and fry them on a low heat, until the slices have turned clear in colour - if the aubergine start to burn, add more olive oil.

When all your aubergine slices have been cooked, you can now add the courgette and aubergine to your baking dish, adding tomato sauce and cheese to each layer, and top with the remaining cheese.

Cover the baking dish with foil and cook at 200°c for 40-60 minutes.

It’s as simple as that. 

You can serve the aubergine and courgette bake with a side salad, or more vegetables. I had brussel sprouts with rosemary and more himalayan salt - perfect. 

The Hungry Welsh Girl.