Pasta with aubergine

Pasta with aubergine from Rachel Roddy's Two Kitchens (Nick Seaton/Headline Home/PA)

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Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving

Calories 659 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 26mg9%

Sodium 67mg3%

Potassium 1448mg41%

Carbohydrates 120g40%

Fiber 14g58%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 26g52%

Vitamin A 2358IU47%

Vitamin C 40mg48%

Calcium 178mg18%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Rachel Roddy shares her recipe for an absolute Italian classic.

Cook Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 659kcal

Author: Rachel Roddy

Equipment

Frying pan
Large saucepan
Slotted spoon
Knife
Food mill

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
olive oil or groundnut oil, for frying
1 kg fresh tomatoes or 500g passata
2 garlic cloves
a small handful of basil
1 tsp sugar if you need it
500 g pasta such as spaghetti, rigatoni, casarecce, mezze maniche or penne
200 g salted ricotta grated
salt

Method

Peel strips from the aubergine so that they are striped, then cut them into 5mm slices. If you’re going to salt them, do it now; otherwise just dry them with a clean tea towel. Heat about 5cm oil in a frying pan and fry the slices, turning them halfway, until they are golden brown on both sides, then drain very well on kitchen paper. Set the slices aside, ideally near the stove so they keep warm-ish.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. If using fresh ones, peel the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for one minute, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and cool under cold water, at which point the skins should slip away. Roughly chop the tomatoes, removing the seeds if you wish (I don’t).
Crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife so that they split but remain whole. Warm some more oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant and lightly gold, remove it from the pan, add the fresh tomatoes (or passata) and cook until they collapse into a sauce. At this point, you can pass the tomatoes through a food mill back into the pan, or if you’re happy with the texture, simply tear in most of the basil, add the sugar if you think the sauce is too sharp, and a good pinch of salt.
Bring the pan of tomato water back to the boil, add salt, stir well and add the pasta. Cook it until al dente, then drain it. Mix the pasta with the sauce and a handful of salted ricotta, then divide it between bowls, top with several slices of aubergine, a little more salted ricotta and a couple more basil leaves. Pass around the remaining aubergine slices and cheese so that people can help themselves.

Nutrition