Eggplant Pasta

I’ve been cooking this eggplant pasta on a fairly regular basis, and one day a dear friend who hates eggplant saw this, and in all seriousness said to me “Don’t eat eggplant, eww!”. I was taken aback, least expected that, and so when I asked her why, she said they were slimy like aliens! I can’t tell you how much I laughed when I read this and it still cracks me up even as I write this now. To be fair though, I don’t remember being the biggest eggplant fan as a child, but somehow that changed and I think it was a matter of how it was cooked. I’ve noticed that every time I soak the eggplants in salt water + pat dry before cooking, they cook better, are less “slimy like aliens”, don’t have that hint of bitterness, and can really lend wholesomeness to a bowl of something as simple as pasta. They don’t take away or steal focus from everything else. For this recipe the eggplants are almost pan fried and then later added to the tomato sauce base which allows both the eggplant and the tomato to bring their own flavours out better, than if they were all combined and cooked together from the start. A sturdier pasta like penne complements the softness of the sauce and the eggplants. With some herbs and cheese, this becomes a plate of yum that you really didn’t know you wanted, even if you’re still one of those who see it as alien food.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups penne pasta, cooked + 2 tbsp cooking water reserved

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 eggplant, diced

  • 1/2 medium white onion, thinly sliced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/3 large red chilli, sliced (optional)

  • 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

  • 1/2 cup water

  • Salt to taste

  • 1/2 tsp soft light brown sugar

  • 1/2 tsp tomato paste

  • 8-10 basil leaves, chopped

  • 1 tbsp mature cheddar, grated

  • 1 tbsp mascarpone

  • 2 tbsp parmesan, grated

Toppings

  • Basil leaves

  • Grated parmesan

  • Freshly cracked black pepper

Method of Preparation

  1. Dice the eggplant and place in a bowl with salted water. Leave for 10 minutes, then drain the water and pat the eggplant pieces dry with a kitchen towel.

  2. Place a large non-stick pan on the stove, add 1 tbsp olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the eggplant pieces, making sure they’re not overlapping, and allow to cook till it sears on one side before flipping to cook on the other side. Using chopsticks to flip really helps. Season with salt after flipping. Once cooked, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.

  3. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the onion + salt and allow to cook till it softens. (At this point, in another pot, cook the pasta according to pack instructions.) Add the garlic + chilli and continue to cook till it becomes fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes + water + salt + soft light brown sugar + tomato paste and allow to cook. As the sauce cooks, the colour will begin to change and it will release some oil, ~20 minutes. Add the mature cheddar + mascarpone and stir to incorporate. Add the cooked eggplant back to the pan with the chopped basil leaves. Add the pasta with the reserved pasta water. Gently combine the sauce and pasta till it all comes together, remove from the heat.

  4. Serve with a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper.