Mini Aubergine Tomato and Mozzarella appetizer

I love this super easy party dish and since it's the season of parties, let's go for it!

What you need is:

6 mini aubergines
1 packet buffalo mozzarella
2 tbsp basil leaves chopped
Some basil leaves for decoration
Parmesan Cheese
Salt, pepper to taste
Tomato Concasse (when i don't feel like making it, i use the ready made pasta Arrabiata sauce that comes in jars

For the tomato Concasse if you want to make it:
Puree of 3 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic chopped
half an onion chopped (2 tbsp)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp (or one nice dollop) tomato ketchup
1 cup old white wine (optional)
Paprica Powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp mixed Italian herbs

Method for the concasse:
take olive oil and heat in a non stick pan
Put in the chopped onions and saute
Add the Chopped Garlic and Sautee for a bit
Optional step - add the white wine
Add the tomato puree and mix in the tomato ketchup, paprica and a little bit of salt and put on a slow flame
Let this cook slowly till the mixture starts to thicken the flavours will all concentrate once it thickens so watch out how much salt you put in
Stir it occasionaly until it becomes really nice and thick
so you see why I just simply buy the stuff right?

Ok, the aubergines also need to be sliced and salted and put in a collander so that all the excess water drains out of it
Once that's done, take kitchen tissues or towels and just dab the aubergines dry completely

Other stuff you will need: Oven, Oven Proof dish, Vegetable oil for lining the oven dish. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees centigrade

So the assembling:

Take your aubergine and lightly put salt and pepper on it.
on top of that put a small piece of mozzarella on each of the aubergine pieces
Top with a dollop of Tomato Concasse
Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese (be generous!)
Top with finely chopped basil leaves
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes till the aubergine is cooked through but not soft and mushy and the cheese has all melted
Top with a fresh sprig of Basil and enjoyyy!

This may not be something that can be picked up with a toothpick or something but is great for an appetizer when you want to sit down and eat with a fork.

Sometimes I make a full layered baked dish with this by repeating the layers twice:
Aubergine, Mozzarella, Tomato concasse, Parmesan, Aubergine, Mozzarella, tomato Concasse and Parmesan with Basil on top and bake the whole thing for around 30 minutes in the oven. this can totally be served as one of the main courses in a buffet style party