Rachel Roddy’s recipe for rice, aubergine and mozzarella bake | A kitchen in Rome

Yesterday’s lunch and this week’s recipe is thanks to my friend, the designer Jake Tilson, who gave me a pristine 1977 edition of The Talisman Italian Cook Book. With a cover of red, white and green stripes cover that makes me think as much of seaside rock as Italy’s national colours, the edition was part of the 24th printing of the US translation of Il Talismano della Felicità (The Talisman of Happiness), by Ada Boni. First published in 1950, the abridged translation was sold as a complete guide to Italian cookery, covering all notable dishes. Well, on the cover at least; inside, the introduction is more realistic, warning the reader that, “to criticise the writer [Boni] or translator [Mrs Matilde La Rosa] for failing to include certain dishes is useless”, because no living man or woman can be acquainted with all the variety of dishes of a such variegated country.

The introduction, by a man called Mario A Pei, goes on to explain that the variety of dishes mirrors the wide dialectical array in Italy at the time (1950); its diversity of speech, customs, costumes, psychology and general world outlook. In the next sentence, he notes that this variety was undoubtedly a very bad thing from the standpoint of national unity and progress (the professor and polyglot was an ardent supporter of European fascism and uniting humans under one language). Not that you would guess that from his following sentence: “Variety is the spice of life.” I regretted reading his introduction, and also telling an Italian friend, who said, laughing: “You don’t know the half of it”, in reference to my romanticism about the original Talismano, which may be great, but also (in her opinion) endorses a Stepford Wives fantasy of womanhood; a journey with Boni as patient guide.

I don’t regret making the recipe from page 161 for rice with aubergine, however, which I have adapted for variety’s sake. This bake is good when made with tinned tomatoes, but fresh ones bring a brighter burst of flavour. Ideally, try to get a mix of varieties – a few sweet cherries, a couple of plums, a big fleshy one – that have been peeled and cooked into a sweet-savoury sauce; if necessary, add a pinch of sugar.

A reason for eating this pretty much straight out of the oven and while it’s still steaming hot is the mozzarella, because the cheese is molten and pulls into those long strings that make serving it and eating it so entertaining. The benefit of waiting half an hour or longer is that the flavours develop, while the bake itself (and the mozzarella inside and on top) firms up. Or serve at whatever stage or temperature you like, with whatever variety of salad or vegetable.

Rice, aubergine and mozzarella bake

Serves 4-6

2 medium aubergines
Olive oil
Salt
500g fresh, ripe tomatoes – tinned as a last resort
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
A few red chilli flakes
1 handful basil leaves
Sugar (optional)
400g long-grain rice
80g grana padano, parmesan, or cheddar
400g mozzarella, well-drained

Using a peeler, pare strips of skin from the aubergines so they are striped, then cut into 1cm-thick slices. Arrange these on an oiled baking tray, zigzag with more oil, sprinkle with salt, then bake at 180C (160C)/350F/gas 4 for 30-40 minutes, until tender and a little golden.

Peel the tomatoes by plunging them first into boiling water for four minutes, then cold water, then pulling away the skins. Roughly chop the flesh.

In a pan on a medium-low heat, soften the onion in olive oil, then add the tomatoes, some salt, chilli, most of the basil leaves (reserve a few for constructing the bake) and some sugar, if necessary, and simmer until rich and saucy, mashing as you go to break up any lumps; you can also pass the sauce through a food mill.

Boil the rice in salted water until al dente and a minute shy of the recommended cooking time. Drain and mix the rice with two tablespoons of olive oil, four tablespoons of the tomato sauce, 30g grated parmesan and salt, if needed; it should be well seasoned.

Thinly slice or tear the mozzarella, then construct the bake. Spoon half the rice mix in the base of a round 22cm metal tin or 20cm x 30cm ceramic lasagne-type dish, then use half the aubergine to make a layer on top. Top that with half the sauce, followed by half the mozzarella and a few basil leaves, then repeat this process with the remaining ingredients, ending with a layer of the remaining 50g parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, until bubbling.