Recipe
Preparation15 minutes
Cook time35 minutes
ServingsServes 4
Episode1873
Ingredients
- Vegetable or Frying Oil of Choice
- 3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed and peeled
- 2 Small/Medium firm Eggplants
- 2 cups of Halved Cherry Tomatoes
- 1-1/2 cups of Tomato Puree Plus a splash of water or 2 cups of Crushed Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
- 4 oz of Mozzarella (or more to taste)
- 10 oz of Penne Rigate
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh Parm
Preparation
-
1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, meanwhile mostly peel the eggplants, leaving a few strips of skin on, then cut into bite size cubes.
2) Add enough vegetable oil to a large skillet to shallow fry the eggplant, once hot add the eggplant in batches and fry until deeply golden and tender, remove to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt, discard the frying oil (no need to wash the skillet here).
3) Add the olive oil and garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant, add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, then add the tomato puree along with a splash of water, season with salt and add some fresh basil.
4) Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes, when it has about 10 minutes left add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente.
5) Drain the pasta, reserving some of the starchy cooking water, then add the pasta and fried eggplant to the sauce along with a small splash of pasta water, cook everything together for a few minutes until the pasta is al dente and coated in the sauce.
6) Add the mozzarella and a generous grating of parm, remove from the heat, cover and let it sit for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
7) Give everything a good stir, add more fresh basil and parm and serve right away.
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