Lamb and Aubergine Bake

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the passata 

makes 900 ml, unused can be frozen (or just buy a bottle)

• 1kg tomatoes

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 medium onion

• 100ml water

• 150ml red wine

• pinch of salt and black pepper

For the sauce

• 400ml of pasata

• pinch of saffron

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

For the filling

• 150g leftover lamb

• 2 aubergines

• 2 red peppers

• 80g manchego cheese (or other hard cheese)

Method

If making your own passata, dice and sweat the onion in a saucepan and a little olive oil for 5 mins before chopping and adding the garlic for 3 mins more. Then chop the tomatoes and add with the wine and water and a pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes then cool and blitz with a hand blender.

You can prepare the filling two ways:

1.  the complex but very tasty way where you slice the aubergine into 1 cm rounds and griddle coated in olive oil until you get those lovely charred lines. Then on a gas hob place the peppers directly onto the flame and char until blackened before peeling and cutting into strips.

2. the easier way where you slice the aubergines and peppers then toss with a little olive oil and roast at 220c or 428f for 10 mins.

Either way you just then need to tear your leftover lamb into small bitesized strips

To spice up the sauce prep the saffron by grinding in a pestle and mortar with a tablespoon of boiling water. This will allow the flavour to spread better throughout the sauce. Then in a saucepan add a little olive oil and the cinnamon and cumin. Fry for a minute until fragrant and add 400ml of passata and the saffron water. Bring to a simmer to heat through.

Now in a small roasting dish layer small amounts of the sauce, aubergines, peppers and lamb and repeat until all used up. Top with grated manchego cheese and at this point you can leave until ready to cook in the fridge. When ready bake at 190c or 374f for 40 mins until the top is golden.

Leave to cool a little before serving as it comes out really hot.