Prep: 45 minutes

Cooking time 90 minutes

Ingredients:

5 large aubergines

250 – 300ml olive oil

For the tomato sauce:

60ml olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

450g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tube concentrated tomato paste

6 - 8 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp each of sweet paprika, turmeric, coriander

1 tbsp dried oregano

Heaped tsp dried rose petals (optional)

Salt and pepper

30g fresh basil

Juice of 2 lemons (optional)

For the meat filling:

500g minced beef

6 – 8 tbsp medium matzo meal

2 medium eggs

Salt, pepper

5 tbsp of the tomato sauce

Method:

l Heat oven to 180°C (fan) and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

l Wash the aubergines and slice lengthwise into 1.5cm thick slices.

l Pour the olive oil onto a deep plate or shallow bowl and thoroughly coat both sides of each slice with it. You may need more oil.

l Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool and reduce oven to 175°C (fan).

l To make the sauce: fry the onions over a medium heat in the oil until golden brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and garlic. Stir well.

l Add the sugar, spices, dried oregano and dried rose — if using — plus salt and pepper to taste. Add 1.2 litres of water.

l Boil, and then simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes stirring regularly. Add the basil at the end. Cool and blend the sauce until smooth.

l To assemble: mix all the filling ingredients. Take a slice of aubergine, add about a heaped tablespoon of meat inside and roll up. You may need more for a large slice and less for smaller slices. Repeat with the remaining aubergine slices. Lay the rolls in a large oven tray, top with tomato sauce and bake for 45 minutes at 175°C, turning the aubergine rolls after 20 minutes.


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