Health buzz: Roasted aubergine slices with tomato topping

It is traditional in the new year to pretend you will only eat healthy things, loose weight and become the perfect you. I too want to pretend. Mostly because we have been eating too much during the holidays – they felt endless this year! We were in Finland for three weeks and were in very little control of what we ate during that time.

So bring on a new year and healthy, happy foods! (So we can eat all the left over Christmas chocolates with good conscience!)

Roasted aubergines with tomato topping

2 aubergines, medium size
2 cloves of garlic
3 small shallots
150g cherry tomatoes (this time of the year regular tomatoes are useless...)
100ml chopped parsley
1 red bell pepper
Lemon juice
(Olive oil, optional)
Salt, pepper

Heat your oven to 225°C. Prepare a baking tray by covering it with non-stick oven proof paper. Wash your aubergines well and cut the greens off the tops. Slice them lengthwise in about four slices. Place the slices on the tray and, if you want, brush them lightly with olive oil. Bake them for about 25 minutes, or until they are properly soft. You don't need to do the whole salt-the-aubergines-to-make-them-sweat; the varieties used today are not bitter and don't need to be salted first – except maybe for flavours :) Chop the other ingredients finely and mix them together. Add plenty of salt, pepper and lemon juice, also a splash of olive oil, if you like – taste to see what you prefer. When the aubergines are done, plate the slices and use the salad as a topping. Yum!


Inspired by a recipe from Helsingin Sanomat