Ingredients
1 large or 2 small eggplants (aubergines)
40g butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/3 teaspoon ground allspice
1 x 400g tin tomatoes, mashed and broken up until smooth
150g basmati rice, washed and soaked in salted water for 3 hours
½ small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
sea salt and black pepper


Method
To prepare the eggplants, cut off the stalks and then slice each eggplant into 3cm cubes. Toss the eggplant in 1 heaped teaspoon of fine sea salt and leave for 20 minutes in a colander. The salt makes for a far softer and more delicious eggplant later.

Preheat oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8.

Melt the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan large enough to cook the rice in. Gently fry the garlic until light brown, then add the allspice and the tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile shake the eggplants and then dry them with kitchen paper. Toss them with the remaining olive oil and spread out on a baking tray. Roast for 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven until golden and soft.

Stir the rice into the tomato and add just enough water to cover the rice by 5mm. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add the roasted eggplants, and cover with a tight fitting lid. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat and cook fast for 2 minutes then turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for another 8 minutes. Let the rice sit for 5 minutes before serving with the parsley on top.