Serves 6 as a main course 12 as a starter

Ingredients

4 large aubergines, approx 1 - 1.2kg
corn oil for frying
600g of a good quality tomato & basil sauce - preferably home-made
3x 125g mozzarella balls, thinly sliced
150g Parmesan, grated
2 large handfuls of basil leaves, torn
pepper to taste

you will need an oven-proof dish approximately 24cm x 32cm (9" x 12")

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C. Cut the aubergines into 5mm slices and brush them with a little oil.
Heat a griddle pan or large frying pan to very hot and add the sliced aubergines to the pan. Cook in batches until well browned on either side, placing them on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
When ready to assemble, spread a little of the sauce in the bottom of the dish, add a layer of aubergines followed by some slices of mozzarella, parmesan, a twist of black pepper and some basil.
Spoon over more tomato sauce and repeat the process until all the aubergine slices are used up.
Finish off with a generous amount of parmesan and the rest of the tomato sauce.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
Let the dish rest for 15 minutes before serving.