For the pesto butter
The pesto butter is optional but of course I highly recommend it. I actually like to do a big batch of this in the food processor - using a block of butter and however much pesto you like. Blend it all together and then wrap it up into a log shape in some parchment paper. This keeps happily in the fridge for a week but also freezes very well. A slice of this works so well on roast chicken, steak or just about anything and is such an easy and delicious way to inject a lot of flavour quickly into your dish with minimal effort. If you’re just doing the pesto butter for this recipe it’s not worth having to wash up a mixer, so just use a small amount of soft butter and mix it in a small bowl.

Alternatives to aubergine
This combination of flavours would also work really nicely with chicken or pork. But if you want another vegetarian alternative you could do rounds of courgette which would be very nice and more quick as they don’t need to be cooked before you coat them in breadcrumbs and fry. I also like doing this with tofu and it works really well. If you buy the firm kind and cut into slices you can coat in breadcrumbs in the same way and it’s delicious.

Pasta or rice
This tomato sauce would be lovely as a sauce for any type of pasta, but boil the pasta and then add it to the tomato sauce. Or you could adapt the recipe and do a traditional tomato risotto using risotto rice. I also like the crispy aubergine with just the tomato sauce. It’s a bit lighter and still very delicious.