Ingredients

• 500 g eggplants (2 pieces)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 kg tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon thyme or herbes de Provence
• 1/2 glass basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter or plant-based butter
• sea salt, ground pepper

Preparation

1. Cut off the ends of the eggplants and slice them into about 1.5 cm thick rounds. Lightly salt both sides and lay them on paper towels for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. Put the tomatoes into boiling water for 1 minute, remove, peel off the skins, cut into quarters removing the stems, then dice and place in a bowl along with their juice.
4. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush both sides with olive oil using a pastry brush, then sprinkle with pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven. Increase the temperature to 230°C.
6. To the diced tomatoes, add the garlic cloves pressed through a garlic press and the thyme, season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together.
7. Arrange half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of a baking dish (starting with the smallest). Spoon half of the tomatoes with their juice over the eggplant and sprinkle with half of the basil.
8. Layer the rest of the eggplant and cover with the remaining tomatoes and their juice. Press down lightly with a spoon.
9. Sprinkle with the remaining basil, saving a few leaves for garnish. Sprinkle the bake with breadcrumbs and dot with small pieces of butter. Place in the oven preheated to 230°C and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven, garnish with the remaining basil, and serve.