Mediterranean-style terrine

La the vegetarian terrine recipe we bring you today is intensely flavored, and a fabulous option any day of the year. It's made of layers of tomato sauce, mozzarella and fried eggplant, and it's very easy to prepare: you just need to fry the ingredients beforehand in a very simple way, and assemble it in the ceramic terrine, in which you'll finish the cooking.

You can serve this eggplant terrine either as a first course, which you can accompany with a green salad or some rice, or as a wonderful side dish for meat or fish.

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

Le Creuset ceramic terrine

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 400gr pear tomatoes*
• 4 medium eggplants
• 250 g buffalo mozzarella
• 40 g grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

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

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. If you use fresh tomatoes, put them in a pot and bring them to a boil for a couple of minutes to remove the skins easily, then drain them.
3. Finely chop the garlic, and gently fry it in a pan with three tablespoons of olive oil for 3–4 minutes. Once it starts to brown, add the drained tomatoes (the ones you prepared or from a can) and simmer over low heat for 8–10 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens.
4. Next, using a vegetable slicer (a slicer) or a mandoline, slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1 cm strips. In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining olive oil and brown the eggplant strips on both sides. When they are golden, place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
5. Then, cut the mozzarella into half-centimeter thick strips with a knife and prepare all the cooked ingredients to layer them.
6. Let's assemble the terrine. First, cover the bottom of the Le Creuset ceramic terrine well with a couple of eggplant strips. Sprinkle a handful of grated Parmesan, then add a layer of mozzarella strips and finish with a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce. Repeat the process until all the ingredients are used.
7. When everything is in place, cover and put the terrine in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes.
8. Once cooked, remove from the oven and place it on a cooling rack or a wooden board, and let it cool.

Notes

• It's perfect served slightly warm or at room temperature.
• You can serve it with a salad (if you make the salad with aromatic herbs like chervil, cilantro and tarragon and dress it with a vinaigrette, it will pair deliciously).
• If you serve it hot, it will easily fall apart because it's still very tender. Use a good spatula or spoon to serve it in that case.