Herbed eggplant and rice bake

Recipes~Plus

Cooking time: More than 1 hour

Serves: 6

Type: Mince

Tools

Kitchen friendly view

Ingredients

2 medium eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1cm slices
1 cup jasmine rice
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
500g premium beef mince
800g can diced tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
1⁄3 cup chopped mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano)
125g grated mozzarella
1⁄2 cup grated fresh parmesan
Garden salad, to serve

Preparation method

1. Sprinkle eggplant with salt; drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse; pat dry on paper towels. Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on the packet; drain.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring, for 2 minutes; add beef and cook 5 minutes until brown. Add tomato, sugar and herbs. Simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat.

3. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Lightly grease a 30x18cm (10-cup) baking dish. Heat 1⁄4 cup oil in clean frying pan over moderate heat. Fry eggplant, in batches, until golden on both sides, adding more oil as needed. Drain.

4. Spread one-third of the beef mixture in dish. Add half the eggplant in a single layer. Top with half the rice and half the combined cheeses. Spread half remaining beef in dish; add remaining eggplant, rice and cheeses. Top with remaining beef. Cover; bake 25-30 minutes until bubbly. Serve with salad.

Lamb and chicken mince are also great in this. Good dish for buffets.

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