The arrangement is not arbitrary: meatball and aubergine alternate so that the fat of the meat passes into the aubergine and the moisture of the aubergine into the meat. Leave gaps between them and that exchange does not happen, and you have simply cooked two separate things.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
For the tin
For the sauce
Method
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Prepare the aubergines
Peel them in stripes, slice them 2 centimetres thick, leave them in salted water for 20 minutes and dry them.
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Knead the mixture
Knead the meatball ingredients for 8 minutes and form flat meatballs the size of the aubergine slices.
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Arrange
Lay them in the tray alternating aubergine and meatball, all leaning against each other.
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Top them
Tuck tomato slices and long green peppers between them and drizzle with olive oil.
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Pour over the sauce
Dissolve the tomato paste in hot water and pour it in from the side of the tray.
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Bake
Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, turning the grill on for the last 10 minutes.
Tips
- Do not cut the aubergine thinner than 2 centimetres; thin slices disappear in the oven.
- Make the meatballs the same size as the aubergine slices, or the arrangement collapses and they cook unevenly.
- The salted water step matters here too; the aubergine will take up every drop of fat in the tray.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.