Baked Rice with Aubergines and Cheese
An easy weeknight dinner that everyone will love! This baked rice with aubergines and cheese is the true meaning of comfort food.
Ingredients
- 400 g rice
- 400 ml tomato sauce passata
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 250 g aubergine chopped
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300 g scamorza/provolone diced or grated
- 50 g parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Bring to a boil a pot filled with water. Once it starts to boil, season with salt. Add the rice and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes. The rice shouldn't be cooked all the way.
- In a large pan or pot, heat the olive oil and fry the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and let cook for another minute.
- Add the chopped aubergines and the oregano. Let everything cook on medium heat until the aubergine starts to brown. Season with salt and pepper.
- Lastly, add the tomato passata and let it simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- Once everything is done, butter a baking dish. I used a glass dish with a volume of 3L. Set aside.
- Mix the rice together with the aubergine sauce and half the cheese.
- Place half of the mixed rice in the dish and gently press it down to pack it in. Add on top the remaining cheese. Cover with the rice mixture and sprinkle the top layer with the grated parmesan cheese and sprinkle extra black pepper on top.
- Bake the dish on the middle rack of your oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese melts and starts having a light golden brown colour.
- Once ready, let it rest for a few minutes and serve warm!