Greek Baked Aubergine with Feta and Tomato (Melitzanes me Feta)

Melitzanes me feta is one of the more straightforward ways aubergine turns up on a Greek table, roasted slices layered with a simple, quickly made tomato sauce, and finished under a generous scattering of feta that softens and turns lightly golden as it bakes. It sits somewhere between a full moussaka and a plain roasted vegetable, offering real depth without anywhere near the same effort.

The technique leans on roasting the aubergine properly first, which concentrates its flavour and removes the raw bitterness that boiling or steaming would leave behind, before it ever meets the tomato sauce.

It is a genuine main course eaten with bread, or a substantial side to grilled meat, and it comes together considerably faster than most other baked Greek aubergine dishes.

Key preparation steps

1. Roast aubergine slices until soft and lightly coloured.
2. Make a quick tomato and garlic sauce.
3. Layer the roasted aubergine with the sauce in a baking dish.
4. Top generously with feta and bake until golden.

Roasting the aubergine

Slice the aubergine into rounds about a centimetre thick, brush generously with olive oil, season, and roast in a hot oven until soft and lightly coloured at the edges, about twenty minutes, turning once. This step concentrates the aubergine's flavour and removes its raw edge before it goes anywhere near the sauce.

The tomato sauce

A simple sauce of tinned or grated fresh tomato, cooked down with garlic and a little dried oregano for fifteen minutes, is all that is needed here, since the dish's flavour comes as much from the roasted aubergine and the feta as from an elaborate sauce.

Layering and baking

Layer the roasted aubergine slices in a baking dish, spoon the tomato sauce over generously, then top with a thick, even scattering of crumbled feta, more feta than might feel strictly necessary. Bake until the feta has softened and turned lightly golden in places, about fifteen to twenty minutes, and serve hot, straight from the dish.

What matters in this dish