- 2 aubergines
- 35g sundried tomatoes
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- A handful of oregano, leaves only
- 125g mozzarella
- 1 red onion
- 50g breadcrumbs
- A pinch or two of dried chilli flakes
- 400g tin of chickpeas
- 1 lemon
- 50g rocket
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1.
Heat 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 1 tbsp oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 mins.
- 2.
Meanwhile, tip the sun dried tomatoes into a heatproof bowl (or small pan) and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for 10 mins.
- 3.
Slice the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Peel and thinly slice both garlic cloves, but keep them separate. Pick and roughly chop the oregano leaves. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces.
- 4.
Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a pan and warm to a medium heat. Slide 1 sliced garlic clove into the pan and fry for 1 min. Add the cherry tomatoes, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, till the tomatoes are slightly softened.
- 5.
While the veg fry, peel and finely slice the onion. Drain the sun dried tomatoes and chop them.
- 6.
When the aubergines are cooked, remove the tin from the oven. Divide the garlicky cherry tomatoes between the 4 aubergine halves. Scatter over the torn mozzarella and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs. Season and return to the oven for 15 mins till the mozzarella is melting and golden.
- 7.
While the aubergine melts bake, pour 1 tbsp oil into the empty pan used to cook the tomatoes (don’t worry if it still contains a bit of sauce) and warm to a medium heat. Slide in the sliced onion, remaining garlic and a pinch of dried chilli flakes (chilli flakes are spicy, so add as much or little as preferred). Fry for 5 mins, till softened.
- 8.
Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan along with the chopped sun dried tomatoes. Reduce the heat and warm through for 5 mins. Stir in the oregano leaves. Grate in the zest from the lemon and squeeze in the juice. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Stir in half the rocket leaves. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
- 9.
Pile the chickpeas onto a couple of plates, top with the aubergine melts, and serve with the remaining rocket leaves.