Tomato and eggplant casserole (bohémienne)

"French for ‘bohemian’, this dish from Avignon is cooked and served in a cast-iron skillet. Place it in the centre of the table and serve with salad and crusty bread." Matthew Evans, For the Love of Meat

Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 kg eggplant, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 750 g ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
• 6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• 50 g grated parmesan 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Heat the olive oil in a 26 cm cast-iron frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the eggplant and cook for 15 minutes or until the eggplant starts to turn golden. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar and bay leaf, then season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often for another 10 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the milk and the anchovies and cook for another 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with the parmesan, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve hot, straight from the frying pan.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Vanessa Austin. Food preparation by Alex Herbert.

Visit the program page For The Love of Meat with Matthew Evans for more information, related articles and more recipes. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.