Baked Aubergine Parmesan

Bake the aubergines

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Prepare one or more baking sheets and spray them evenly with a vegetable oil spray.
2. Prepare 2 wide, shallow dishes for the egg and coating mixture: beat the egg(s) with the water in one, put the bread crumbs in the other.
3. Prepare the aubergines :Slice them crosswise into 1 cm thick slices. Working with one slice at the time, dip it in the egg mixture, let the excess egg drip off, then coat it with the bread crumbs. Turn the slices to coat both sides. Place the slices on the baking sheet(s), season with salt, then bake until the aubergines are golden-brown on the bottom, 15-20 min. Turn the slices and continue baking an additional 15-20 min until browned on the other side. Remove the aubergines from the oven and raise the temperature to 205°C/400°F.

Make the sauce

4. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and sauté 2-3 min over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic then sauté for 1 min. Add the Tomato Base and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook 10 min with occasional stirring. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Assemble and bake

5. Grate the Parmesan cheese and cut the bocconcini into small dices.
6. Spread about one third of the tomato sauce in a baking dish. Arrange half of the aubergine slices in the dish overlapping them slightly. Cover with more sauce, half of the cheese and the basil leaves. Repeat with the remaining aubergines, sauce, and cheese.
7. Bake in the middle of the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 20 min. Take the dish out of the oven, let stand 5 min then serve with the bread.