This Elegant Layered Aubergine Bake With Tomato, Onion And Golden Cheese is the kind of dish that makes the oven feel like the heart of the kitchen, even if you are just beginning to cook. You start with three aubergines, sliced into neat one‑centimetre strips, which soften and sweeten as they roast under a gentle coating of olive oil, salt, dried herbs and spices. While the aubergines bake, you slowly turn onion rings into golden, fragrant strands in a pan of olive oil, building a base of sweetness that will carry the tomato sauce. Grated tomatoes join the onions, and with salt, sugar, black pepper, dried garlic, dried basil and dried oregano, they transform into a rich, aromatic mixture that feels both homely and sophisticated. When the aubergines are ready, you layer them in a heatproof glass dish, alternating each layer with the tomato–onion sauce and a generous handful of grated cheese, creating a structure that looks almost like a savoury lasagne without pasta. A final bake at a lively temperature melts the cheese into a golden crust and allows the flavours to settle into one another, giving the dish a cohesive, comforting character.