- 2 aubergines
- 35g sun dried tomatoes
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 125g mozzarella
- A handful of oregano, leaves only
- 1 lemon
- 50g breadcrumbs
- 400g tin of chickpeas
- 50g rocket
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Roasting tin
- Frying pan
- 1.
Preheat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Trim the green tops off the aubergines and halve the aubergines lengthways. Pop them in a roasting tin, cut-side up. Drizzle with ½ tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 mins.
- 2.
Meanwhile, fill your kettle and boil it. Tip the sun dried tomatoes into a heatproof bowl (or small pan) and pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Set aside to soak for 10 mins.
- 3.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes. Peel and finely slice the red onion. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces. Pick and roughly chop the oregano leaves.
- 4.
Pour ½ tbsp olive oil into a frying pan and warm to a medium heat. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for 1 min, stirring. Add the cherry tomatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, stirring now and then, till the tomatoes have softened.
- 5.
While the veg fry, drain the sun dried tomatoes and roughly chop them. Finely grate the zest from the lemon.
- 6.
When the aubergine halves have cooked for 20 mins, remove the tin from the oven. Spoon the garlicky cherry tomatoes over the aubergines. Scatter over the mozzarella and the breadcrumbs. Season and return to the oven for 15 mins till the mozzarella is melted and golden.
- 7.
While the aubergine melts bake, pour 1 tbsp olive oil into the empty tomato pan (don’t worry if it still contains a bit of sauce) and warm to a medium heat. Add the sliced onion and fry for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally, till softened.
- 8.
Drain the chickpeas and tip them into the pan along with the sun dried tomatoes. Turn the heat down a little and warm through for 5 mins. Stir in the oregano leaves and lemon zest and squeeze in the juice from half the lemon. Stir in half the rocket. Taste and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if you think it needs it.
- 9.
Divide the chickpeas between a couple of warm plates, top with the aubergine melts and serve with the remaining fresh rocket on the side.