Hollie Smith is this weeks' guest on the brand new podcast from The Hits, The Humble Yum Yum, hosted by Ganesh Raj. The Humble Yum Yum explores Food, Family and Fame, and each week Ganesh & his celebrity guest create a recipe that can feed 4 people for under $20. Hollie's dream dish is inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi so Ganesh put a simple twist on an egg plant favourite inspired by the middle east.

Listen to Episode 5: Hollie Smith.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

4	Fresh Produce Eggplant
4 cups	Colby cheese (Grated)
4 cups	Olive oil
4 tbl	fresh herbs (*look for Italian herbs that are on special such as Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Parsley)

Tomato Sauce

3 cans	Chopped tomatoes
4 tbl	Garlic (minced)
4 tbl	Dried Italian herbs

Directions

1. Slice each eggplant lengthways into 4 slices - Lay them out on a paper towel on a flat surface (a cutting board works well)
2. Rub in 2 tsp of salt on the raw eggplant. Water will start to emerge from the eggplant. Leave it for a good 30mins so as much water as possible can seep out. This will keep the eggplant from becoming soggy when cooked.
3. Pat dry the wet eggplant with a paper towel and set aside - Fry all the eggplant in shallow oil, on medium heat, till golden brown. Then set aside.
4. Make the tomato sauce as per below.
5. Once the sauce is done, in the same pan, place two pieces of eggplant in the sauce.
6. Cover generously with cheese.
7. Then lay two more pieces of eggplant onto the cheese.
8. Cover those two pieces of eggplant with whatever cheese is remaining.
9. Cover with a lid and leave to cook on stovetop over a low to medium heat for 7 mins.
10. Lift the lid. Chop the fresh herbs and garnish on top - Dig in!

Tomato sauce

1. Heat 1 tbl of oil in a pan on a medium heat.
2. Pour 3 cans of tomatoes into the pan.
3. Mix in 4 tsp of minced garlic, 4 tsp of mixed herbs.
4. Season with 2 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of pepper.
5. Mix well and reduce on a low heat for between 20-30mins. Make sure the sauce thickens to your liking.