Wash the aubergines, halve them lengthways and carefully score the flesh a little. Prepare the cocktail tomatoes, red onion, garlic and basil.
Brush the aubergine halves with a little olive oil and season with salt. Pre-bake in the oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan) for 20–25 min, until the insides are soft.
Gently heat olive oil in a frying pan and cook the red onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the cocktail tomatoes and cook briefly until they burst.
Carefully loosen some of the soft aubergine flesh and fill with the tomato mixture. Finish with basil and freshly grated hard cheese.
Bake the stuffed aubergines at 200 °C for another 10 min, until everything is hot and the hard cheese has melted slightly. Season with pepper.
Good to know
This dish tastes of a warm evening in the kitchen and very little effort. The aubergine turns soft and juicy and takes on loads of flavour. Mediterranean cooking can be this simple.
Swaps
Hard cheese → vegetarian hard cheese made from sheep's milk (stronger flavour, also contains protein and calcium); red onion → shallot (milder); cocktail tomatoes → chopped fresh Roma tomatoes (similar nutrients, slightly less juice); olive oil → avocado oil (heat-stable, with monounsaturated fatty acids)
Allergens
Contains milk (hard cheese). Suits children well if the aubergine is cooked until soft, and during pregnancy it's fine as long as you use pasteurised or long-aged hard cheese.
