Recipe by Jessica Sepel; photograph by Rob Palmer

Nothing this healthy ever tasted this good…

It’s the perfect weather for this mouth-watering Mediterranean roasted aubergine recipe. Healthy, simple and, most importantly, satisfying!

Aubergines are rich in the antioxidant nasunin, which has been found to protect the lipids in brain-cell membranes. It also helps move excess iron from the body. Nice! Here’s the recipe:

What You’ll Need

2 aubergines
Himalayan salt
6 ripe tomatoes,
 roughly chopped
1⁄4 cup basil leaves, chopped
1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Shaved Parmesan cheese and basil (optional, to serve)

READ MORE: Exactly How To Roast A Whole Cauliflower So It Tastes Insane

Method

1/ Cut the aubergines in half and sprinkle with salt, then leave for one hour. Rinse off the salt and dry. Cut the aubergines in half again lengthways and score into squares with a knife.

2/ Preheat oven to 180°C.

3/ Combine the tomatoes, chopped basil and chilli flakes in a large bowl, using the back of
 a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes.

4/ Coat the aubergines with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes.

5/ Take the aubergines out of the oven and spoon over the tomato mixture. Bake for a further 15 minutes, until golden.

6/ Serve with the extra basil leaves and Parmesan.

SERVES 4. Per serving: 710kJ,
8g fat (1g sat fat), 23g carbs,
15mg sodium, 10g fibre, 4g protein

Recipe extracted from The Healthy Life by Jessica Sepel, published by Pan Macmillan, from R399.

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