For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been in quite the creative slump. So I’ve mainly been focusing on testing recipes from cookbooks I love. Today I made Eggplant Dumplings Alla Parmigiana from Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage’s book, Flavor. Of course, like most directions in life, I took this recipe as a suggestion and riffed on it a bit. Ingredients 90g fresh breadcrumbs, ideally sourdough (ie, from 2-3 slices) 3 eggplants, roasted and peeled, cut up into a mash (about 2-3 cups) 1/2 cup olive oil Salt and black pepper 100g ricotta 75g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve 4½ tbsp parsley leaves, finely chopped, divided 1 whole egg, plus 1 extra yolk 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp garlic powder 2 tbsp of ghee For the sauce 2 cups of crushed tomatoes 1 tsp tomato paste 2 tsp of crushed garlic 1 tsp brown sugar 1 tsp chili flakes 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper 1 tsp dried oregano Method Roast your eggplant with olive oil, salt & pepper at 180C (160C fan)/390F …