Barbecued eggplant and green tomatoes on passata

Tamara West

Though traditionally made from uncooked tomatoes that have been pureed and strained, our passata is quickly cooked, preserving colourful cherry tomatoes in a vibrant fresh sauce. Makes enough to store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze in serving portions to use for pasta or wherever a hit of tomato sauce is required.

We’ve used white eggplant and ripe spanish green tomatoes for this double decker. Purple eggplant and any beefsteak style of tomato, so long as it’s firm, will also do the trick.

Tomato Passata

1 clove	Garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Onion, finely diced
1 kg	Cherry tomatoes, mixed colours (Main)
1 Tbsp	Ginger, finely grated
1 Tbsp	Balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup	Basil leaves, freshly torn
1 tsp	Salt
1 to taste	Freshly ground black pepper

Barbecued eggplant and green tomatoes

1	Eggplant, white (Main)
3	Green tomatoes, ripe (Main)
1	Olive oil, to marinate
1	Red wine vinegar, to marinate
1	Salt & freshly ground pepper, to marinate
1	Lemon, zest, to marinate
4 Tbsp	Rocket pesto, or goats cheese

Directions

Tomato Passata

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onion and garlic. Sweat until the onion is fragrant and translucent.
2. Add cherry tomatoes and 1 ginger. Add balsamic vinegar and salt and simmer over a medium heat until the tomatoes have half broken down into a pulpy sauce.
3. Add basil leaves and freshly ground pepper to taste, then remove from the heat and rest, covered with a sheet of baking paper.
4. For a richer tomato sauce, add more vinegar and continue the cooking process until the tomatoes have completely broken down and the sauce is thick. Then strain, and preserve

Barbecued eggplant and green tomatoes

1. Cut eggplant into approximately 1.5cm thick slices on the bias. Cut tomatoes, crossways, to the same thickness.
2. Marinate them both in olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon zest, and salt and pepper, for 5 minutes.
3. Barbecue or grill the slices, turning them so they colour evenly and don't burn, until they're all fork tender. (The tomatoes will cook quicker than the eggplant.)
4. To serve, place a large spoonful of tomato passata sauce on the plate, then layer eggplant-tomato-eggplant-tomato.
5. Season with flaky sea salt then top off with a spoonful of rocket pesto or goats cheese.