I have all the necessary ingredients for the perfect dish today. The timing is perfect as well since all these ingredients are super summery. There’s no better time for this dish than now, in the heart of summer. Vegetables taste and smell just incredibly right now. I’d say this is my favourite dish ever but I’m afraid it would be unfair to all the other dishes I love so much! It’s definitely on the list with my favourites though, near the top where it belongs! Aubergine lasagne!

But I’m not the only one that loves this dish so much. Almost everyone that has tried it in our home has become a huge fan. I was on the phone with a friend of mine today and once she heard what I was cooking, she only said one thing: “I’m coming over”!

We love aubergines. For sure! According to a test I took once, I have an aubergine allergy! Of course, I ignore it systematically and consider myself one of aubergine’s best friends. I’ve heard that before aubergines were acknowledged as a well-respected vegetable, they were thought to be toxic and poisonous (this might explain the allergies). Some people used to avoid them and call them “mala insana”, the crazy apple, because they believed it led to depression and insanity.

For years, aubergines hadn’t decided exactly what they wanted to be, a fruit or a vegetable? Botanists claim they are a fruit although the rest of us treat them as a vegetable. Opinions vary, I suppose. In any case, it’s absolutely certain that they are not harmful at all. On the contrary, besides being very tasteful, they’re also beneficial to our health. They are a great source of fibre, potassium, magnesium, copper, folic acid and many other vitamins and nutrients. They deserve to be incorporated into our diet.

Of course, they are delicious, an undeniable protagonist of summer and the Mediterranean cuisine. I don’t think we could imagine our summer menus without the presence of aubergines. They are a regular in our kitchen, in numerous variations.

There are so many recipes with aubergines, I don’t even know where to begin! Fried or grilled, smoky aubergine dip, gremolata, braised in olive oil.. No matter which version you prefer, it definitely tastes divine! Besides being so flavourful, they are also beautiful. Ever since we started growing aubergines in our veggie garden, I love picking them fresh and shiny (their leaves are quite thorny though) and admire their deep purple colour. Natural beauties!

Today, we’re making pasta, lasagne. I believe aubergines and pasta make a perfect match. It’s a classic and ordinary combination in Italy. In Greece, although aubergines are a very common ingredient, for years they have been trapped in the frying pan, oil-braised dishes and dips. But they have potential for so many different things! Recently, aubergines started being gourmet-ised and combined with many new ingredients. Like pasta.

All the ingredients I have today blend perfectly and create the ultimate summer treat. Buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, tomato, basil, spearmint and, last but not least, garlic. Let’s not forget that aubergines adore garlic, and for a very good reason.

Today’s recipe is a certain hit. It can be quite time-consuming, I’ll admit it, but it’s definitely worthy of your time. I believe the ingredient that makes all the difference and makes this dish even more special, along with everything else, is spearmint. Be generous with it. It adds such a refreshing aroma and taste. I love it so much that I use both fresh and dry spearmint –just a teaspoon for some extra flavour.