Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil for shallow frying
  • 700 g middle sized courgettes, cut into 5mm thick slices lengthways
  • 400 g Taleggio cheese, cubed
  • 100 g Parmesan, freshly grated
  • Salt and pepper

Tomato sauce:

  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 800 can canned chopped tomatoes
  • 10 basil leaves

Batter:

  • 100 g plain flower
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • freshly ground nutmeg

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 C
  • Make the tomato sauce by frying the garlic in the olive oil in a pan until soft, about 5 minutes
  • Add the tomatoes and basil, some salt and pepper to taste and cook gently for 20-30 minutes
  • To make the batter, put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten eggs. Season with a little nutmeg and some salt and pepper, and mix well to a thick batter
  • In a frying pan, gently heat a little olive oil. Dip the courgettes slice into the batter, and fry in batches in the hot oil until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside
  • Now assemble the dish. Put a layer of courgettes slices on the base of a baking dish. Pour over the tomato sauce, and some of the cheeses and then get on with the next layer. Finish with the sauce and Parmesan
  • Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Leave to cool before cutting into portions.

Recipe by Antonio Carluccio and photo by Alistair Hendy