Eggplants Baked in Tomato Sauce – Vegan version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Roasted Vegetables

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Halve the vegetables lengthwise, in half, and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern.

   KnifeCutting board

   💡The crosshatch scoring lets the oil and salt get inside, and the flesh softens right down to the skin.
3. 3
   Brush the vegetables generously with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt on top.

   Pastry brush
4. 4
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding, flesh side up.

   Baking pan
5. 5
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 25 minutes, until the eggplants are tender.

   ⚙ Oven roastingOvenBaking pan

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 6
   Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 7
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 8
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 9
   Add and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 10
   Take the eggplant out of the oven and pour the tomato sauce over it.
2. 11
   Sprinkle the cheese on top.
3. 12
   Bake another 10 minutes, until the cheese melts.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
4. 13
   Garnish with the basil leaves before serving.