Jamie Oliver's spaghetti cake with sweet aubergine & tomato recipe

The bonus of choosing wholemeal spaghetti over white is that it can contain more than double the amount of fibre, as well as lots of B vitamins, which keep our metabolic systems healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine (350g)
• 300g dried wholewheat spaghetti
• olive oil
• 4 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 2 red onions
• ½–1 fresh red chilli
• 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
• 300g cottage cheese
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 30g Parmesan cheese
• 1 lemon
• 70g rocket
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the whole aubergine in a large pan of boiling salted water. Sit something on top, like a colander, so the aubergine stays submerged, cook for 15 minutes, then remove to a board. Add the spaghetti to the water and cook according to the packet instructions, then drain and place in a large bowl to cool.
2. Meanwhile, roughly chop the aubergine about 1cm thick. Place a deep 26cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the aubergine, then pick in the oregano leaves. Peel the onions, then finely slice with the chilli and add to the pan. Cook for 15 minutes, or until golden and gnarly, stirring regularly. Pour in the tinned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, then just under half-fill the tin with water, swirl around and pour into the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until thick. Taste and season to perfection.
3. Pour the tomato sauce over the spaghetti, add the cottage cheese, crack in the eggs, finely grate in most of the Parmesan, then mix together really well. Pour the spaghetti mixture back into the pan, pushing it into an even layer and packing it up at the sides. Get it going over a medium heat on the hob for 2 minutes, then bake on the bottom of the oven for 40 minutes, or until golden all over. Bang out on to a board, grate over the remaining Parmesan, and serve with lemon-dressed rocket and a drizzle of balsamic.