Roasted Aubergines with Barlotti Beans & Tomato Sauce

Soft and gooey roasted aubergines and creamy barlotti beans sit on a dreamy tangy and spicy tomato sauce with crunchy garlic and fragrant herbs! Dish of dreams!

We can pretend we are somewhere in Italy sipping an ice cold glass of franciacorta (Italian MCC) while smothering warmed focaccia with the sauce.

Back in Cape Town though, I made this on a beautiful summers day with aubergines from my garden and finding with a big bowl of wonderful in-season organic cherry tomatoes.

A note on aubergines

Aubergines are one of those veggies that a lot of people are scared to cook. They have a bit of a reputation for being difficult to cook and the pre-salting myths don’t help either.

Traditionally, aubergine slices were salted before cooking to draw out moisture which allowed the aubergines to soak up less olive oil when cooking. In my experience, you don’t have to pre-salt aubergine slices before cooking as the new cultivars tend to not absorb so much oil. Having said that, a very important cooking rule when it comes to aubergines are that they don’t like being dry, so be generous with the evoo.

My two preferred ways of cooking aubergines are either sautéed with plenty of olive oil and other fragrant things like chilli and garlic in a saucepan with the lid on, where they go wonderfully creamy or I simply roast them in the oven after massaging them with plenty olive oil and generous seasoning.

When sourcing aubergines, make sure they are firm and shiny as older aubergines tend to go leathery when roasted (rather sautée them).

I have plenty of aubergine recipes on my site as they have a long organic season in Cape Town.

More aubergine recipes

Serving suggestions

For me, this is the ultimate fuss-free full of flavour meal that I can either serve, as it is, with a good sourdough bread, quinoa or black rice on the side or I can jazz it up with a fabulous topping of torn burrata cheese, good handmade mozzarella or crumbled feta.

This will also be a good side to wonderful roast or bbq’d chicken.

Roasted Aubergines with Barlotti Beans & Tomato Sauce

Wonderful recipe full of fibre, plant protein and tastes a treat! Serve with crumbled feta or creamy burrata cheese on top and sourdough on the side to mop up the beautiful flavours.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Diet Fibre Rich Starter, Gluten-free, High Plant-protein, Vegan
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • powerful food processor or NutriBullet

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large aubergines
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves finely sliced
  • 6 twigs woody herbs like origanum thyme or marjoram
  • 2 400g tins red kidney beans drained
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (more to taste)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 lemon quartered
  • crumbled feta to serve opt
  • flaky sea salt & pepper

Organic Cherry Tomato Sauce

  • 600 g cherry tomatoes
  • 10 cm fresh ginger peeled and grated
  • 1 red chilli chopped or 1tspn smoked chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • salt & pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 200c and line a large baking tray, big enough to accommodate the sliced aubergines without any overlap, or use two baking trays instead.
  • Top & tail the aubergines and slice into thick (2cm) rounds. Add to a bowl and generously season with salt and pepper and olive oil, toss with your hands. Lay the aubergines on the baking sheet(s) and generously drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, turning once - the aubergines needs to be soft and starting to caramelise at the sides. TIP: it's important for aubergines to stay moist, if your aubergines appear to be kinda 'leathery' looking, add more olive oil and roast further.
  • To make the crisp garlic and herbs, place a small sieve over a heatproof bowl. Add 4 tbsp olive oil to a small frying pan, then add the garlic slices and place over a medium heat - this is key to avoid the burning of the garlic which makes it bitter and inedible. Fry for 2/3 minutes until the garlic starts to appear a very light golden, now add the herb stalks, taking care as they might spit oil, when the herbs are crispy, tip the oil, garlic and herbs into the sieve reserving the fragrant oil into the heatproof bowl.
  • Meanwhile make the tomato sauce. In a food processor, add the cherry tomatoes, ginger and chilli and season generously with salt and pepper. Blitz for a minute or two until the sauce is complete smooth.
  • Add 1/2 the garlic oil to a saucepan and add the tomato sauce as well. Let it all come to a rapid boil for 30 seconds before turning the heat down to a very gentle simmer. Simmer (without a lid) for 20 minutes until the sauce is reduced, glossy and thickened. Taste and season with salt & pepper. The sauce should taste lovely! If it's still too runny, let it gently simmer along until you are happy with the taste and consistency.
  • In a separate bowl, add the drained beans and season with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp chopped herbs. Toss well and taste and season to perfection.
  • To serve, add the tomato sauce to a serving platter, add the seasoned beans and top with the roasted aubergines. Drizzle with the remaining garlic oil and season with salt & pepper. Finish with the crispy garlic and herbs and chopped fresh herbs (and prob a little more oil). Crumble feta over if using and serve with the lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
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