(An appetizer made with roasted eggplants)

There are times when I get bored with quotidian food. That is when I start to envisage recipes, using ingredients in a slightly different way. I recently made some lovely Marinara sauce and stored it in the refrigerator. I was wondering if I could use it to make some appetizers when I suddenly thought of this recipe! I came across this recipe on the internet some years back and had tried making it once. So, I thought of making it again and sharing it here!

There are many different varieties of eggplants available in the market. This recipe uses the globe variety (the big fat eggplant).

I still wonder though, why is it called an ‘eggplant’, if it has no egg in it! This veggie has many names- eggplant, brinjal, or aubergine - you can choose the name you want. After all, it all means the same.

Ingredients

• 1 globe eggplant

• 1 onion

• 15-20 button mushrooms

• salt

• 4-5 garlic cloves

• Marinara sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil/groundnut oil

• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

• chili flakes (optional)

Method

• Wash the eggplant thoroughly and cut it in circles of around 1/2 -3/4 inch thickness. Try to maintain the thickness of all slices, so that they will cook evenly later. The thinner the slices, the easier to cook them. Do not make them too thin though.

• Rub salt on both sides of each slice and keep them on kitchen paper towels for 30 mins. You will see eggplant slices releasing water as shown below -.

• Pat dry all the slices to remove this water and salt. Keep the slices aside.

• In a small bowl, add olive oil and add dried herbs to it.

• On a griddle/pan, add oil. When the oil becomes hot, put the eggplant slices over it. Pan roast for 8-10 minutes on medium flame.

• Flip the slices and roast again.

• Once the slices are evenly browned, and cooked properly, remove them from the pan. Set aside.

• In the meantime, cut the onions and mushrooms as shown below-

• Heat little olive oil in a pan and add chopped garlic to it. Sauté till the garlic gets a beautiful brown color. Add chopped onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Mushrooms will release water, while cooking. Cook till all the water evaporates. Keep this mixture aside.

• Take the roasted slices and spread the marinara sauce on top. Add the mushroom-onion mixture and grated mozzarella cheese over it as shown below -

• Bake all these slices in a preheated oven at 392°F/200°C for 10 mins.

• If you like, add some chili flakes on top.

EGGPLANT PIZZA IS READY TO SERVE!

SERVE HOT.

Notes -

• If you make the slices too thick, they will take a long time to cook. If the slices are too thin, they will not hold shape properly later. So, maintain the thickness.