Mediterranean style terrine

The vegetarian terrine recipe that we bring you today is one of the most intense in flavor, and a fabulous option every day of the year. It is made up of layers of tomato sauce, mozzarella and fried aubergine , and it is very easy to prepare: you just have to pre-fry the ingredients in a very basic way, and form it in the ceramic terrine , in which you will finish cooking.

You can serve this aubergine terrine both as a first course, which you can accompany with a green salad or a little rice, or as a fabulous accompaniment to meat or fish.

Whether you serve it as a main dish or as a side dish, it is a delicious recipe. Absolutely.

Ceramic terrine Le Creuset

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 400g of pear tomato*
• 4 medium eggplants
• 250 g of buffalo mozzarella
• 40 g grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• ground black pepper

*If you prefer and to speed up the preparation, you can directly use 2 cans of 400 g of pear tomatoes, drained.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. If you use natural tomatoes, boil them in a pot for a couple of minutes to remove the peel easily, and drain them.
3. Chop the garlic finely, and fry it gently in a pan with three tablespoons of olive oil, for 3-4 minutes. Once it starts to brown, add the drained tomatoes (prepared or canned) and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens.
4. Next, with the help of a vegetable slicer (a slicer) or a mandolin , slice the aubergines lengthwise into 1 cm strips. In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining olive oil and brown the aubergine strips on both sides. When they are golden, reserve on kitchen paper to absorb the residual oil.
5. Then, with a knife, cut the mozzarella into strips half a centimeter thick and prepare all the cooked ingredients to layer them.
6. Let's go with the preparation of the terrine. First, cover the bottom of the Le Creuset ceramic terrine well with a couple of strips of aubergine. Sprinkle on a handful of grated Parmesan, then top with shredded mozzarella, and finish with a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce. Repeat the process until you have placed all the ingredients.
7. When everything is well placed, cover and put the terrine in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 30 minutes.
8. Once cooked, take it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack or a wooden board, and let it cool.

Grades

• It is perfect to serve hot or at room temperature.
• You can serve it accompanied by a salad (if you make it with aromatic herbs, such as chervil, cilantro and tarragon and dressed with some vinaigrette, it will combine deliciously).
• If you serve it hot, it will easily fall apart as it is still very tender. Help yourself with a good shovel or spoon to serve it if that is the case.