Aubergine, tomato, avocado stack

I made this aubergine, tomato and avocado stack as a bit of an extravagant breakfast one morning. The aubergine was meant to be a replacement for bread. You could get away with serving this up as a starter as well at a dinner party, so whether you want it for breakfast or dinner it is up to you!

This dish could easily be made vegan by substituting the lactose free cream cheese for some hummus, or a spread of your choice.

Ingredients

• 1 small aubergine

• 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Half an avocado

• 2 tomatoes

• 6 basil leaves

• Salt / black pepper to your taste

• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

• Lactose free cream cheese to spread

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC

2. Chop aubergine lengthways into thin slices

3. Marinade in olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cumin

4. Cook the aubergine on a roasting tray for 25 mins, turning the slices half way through

5. Chop tomatoes into slices and season with salt, pepper and freshly chopped basil, drizzle with olive oil

6. Roast in the oven for 15 mins

7. Chop half an avocado into slices, and marinade it in lemon juice (stops it going brown, and adds flavour)

8. Chop extra basil for garnishing

9. Spread a layer of lactose free cheese onto the aubergine

10. Add tomato slices and aubergine slices, and sprinkle with additional basil

11. Repeat the layers three more times

12. Serve (I served mine with a drizzle of pumpkin puree on the side for presentation)

This makes a good starter. If you want to make hor d'oeuvres instead then you can roll the aubergine slices up with the tomato, avocado and cream cheese and serve them as nibbles.