Baked Eggplant in Tomato Sauce with Cheese

👨‍🍳 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
   Brush the vegetables generously with the olive oil and sprinkle the salt on top.

   Pastry brush
3. 3
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding.

   Baking pan
4. 4
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 20 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. 5
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes with the salt. Don't cook it: the sauce cooks on the pizza in the oven.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveSmall saucepan

   💡Spread cooled sauce on pizza: hot sauce softens the dough even before baking.

   💡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. 6
   Take the eggplant out of the oven and pour the tomato sauce over it.
2. 7
   Sprinkle the cheese on top.
3. 8
   Bake another 15 minutes, until the cheese melts.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.