Ragú and aubergine parmigiana

Somewhere in between a lasagne (but without the pasta), a parmigiana di melanzane (but with a ragú) and a moussaka (without bechamel and potato), this bake layers ragú with roasted aubergine slices, nutmeg cream and parmesan. The ragú features a punchy umami paste that forms the flavour base, there’s no soffrito and therefore no chopping, so it all comes together very quickly and packs a real punch.

Ingredients Serves 4

Umami paste for ragú

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped

80g tomato paste/puree

60g olive oil

10g dried porcini

80 twists freshly ground black pepper

1½ tsp fine sea salt

¾ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried chipotle flakes

½ tsp fennel seeds

450g beef mince

2 Sicilian or Tuscan sausages, skin removed and crumbled into small pieces

150g oyster mushrooms, finely chopped

1 Scotch bonnet 

1 cinnamon stick

700g chicken bone broth/stock

½ tsp red wine vinegar (or another vinegar)

Everything else

3 medium aubergines 

1 bunch large spinach leaves

200g double cream

Whole nutmeg

100g parmesan, finely grated

Add all the ingredients for the paste to a blender and blitz until smooth (you’ll need to scrape the sides down a couple of times).

Method

Place a large pan on a high heat. Add a splash of oil, the umami paste, mushrooms, mince, sausages and parmesan rind and mix well. Stir-fry, breaking up the meat as you go, until the mince is cooked though, golden-brown and bubbling- about 10 mins. 

Add the cinnamon stick and Scotch bonnet. Pour in the chicken broth and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat all the way down, cover with a lid and gently cook for 1 hour. Check the seasoning towards the end, you may want to add more salt if your broth wasn’t seasoned. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240C fan.

Slice the aubergines lengthways into 1cm-thick slices. Arrange across 2 parchment-lined trays. Rub oil into each side of each slice. Bake for 15 mins, then flip the slices over and bake for another 5-10 mins, or until golden-brown on both sides (some slices might be ready sooner, so take them out first). 

Lower the oven to 200C.

Blanch the spinach by pouring boiling water over the leaves over a bowl. Dip the leaves into the water a couple of times, then drain well. Cut off the stalks (save them for another recipe)

Grate plenty of nutmeg into the cream and mix.

Layer up! Start with the ragú, followed by spoonfuls of the nutmeg cream and a good grating of parmesan. Follow with a layer of spinach, then a layer of aubergine slices. Keep layering until you’ve run out, finishing with ragú, cream and parmesan. Drizzle with a little oit oil, then bake for 25 mins.

Leave to cool for 15 mins before serving.