Eggplant, tomato and cheese gratin

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 large eggplants
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 200g mozzarella
• 100 g feta cheese or goat cheese
• 5 tomatoes, peeled, approx. 700 g
• 2 peppers, red and yellow
• 1 onion(s)
• 250 ml red wine
• pepper
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 red chili pepper(s)
• 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Cut the eggplants lengthwise into approximately 0.5 cm thick pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant slices on each side until lightly browned. You can add a little olive oil every now and then to prevent the slices from sticking. I always place the cooked eggplants on kitchen paper. While the eggplants are frying, chop all the other ingredients and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. If you have a blender, add the tomatoes, bell peppers, chili, garlic, onion, and wine to the blender. Add salt, pepper, and oregano and blend until a thick sauce forms. If you don’t have a blender, finely chop the onion and garlic and fry them in the hot pan with olive oil until browned. Chop the bell peppers as finely as possible and add them. Add everything else as above and simmer for 5 minutes. Grease an ovenproof dish with olive oil. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the dish, cover with a layer of tomato sauce, and top with a few slices of mozzarella. Continue this process until all the eggplant, cheese, and sauce are used up. Top the top two layers, especially the thickest, with feta cheese. While the gratin is baking at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, you can cook some basmati rice. The gratin is perfect as a main course with rice on the side. It also tastes delicious as a side dish to meat, such as kofte, or fish dishes. It can also be enjoyed as a cold, Mediterranean appetizer with white bread or flatbread.