- Updated: December 6, 2021
Eggplant Pasta is a pasta dish that is simple and tasty and prepared with natural ingredients. The eggplants cooked with a soffritto base is super flavourful.
I had the eggplant baked before adding it to the sauce to get a crunchy texture.
I believe that less is more when preparing this and other recipes.
Note:
Tbsp = tablespoon.
Tsp = teaspoon.
Chopped = chopped or cut into ½ cm pieces.
Soffritto = a mixture of slowly cooked carrots, onions, and celery, used as a base to add flavour to sauces, soups and stews. The vegetables are chopped into small cubes or pieces and cooked in olive oil over a low heat until soft and just shy of brown or golden.
INGREDIENTS:
Main ingredients:
400 g pasta. I normally use spaghetti, linguine, or penne.
1 large pot of boiling water to cook the pasta.
1 tbsp of salt added to the large pot of boiling water.
400 g purple eggplants (aubergines or brinjals). Cut them into 1 cm cubes.
1 to 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or normal olive oil for brushing the oven pan and the eggplant.
Marinate ingredients:
½ tsp salt.
½ tsp cracked black pepper.
1 tsp fennel seeds.
10 g grated cheese.
Sauce ingredients:
1 carrot, diced into ½ cm cubes.
1 red onion finely chopped.
1 celery stalk finely chopped.
250 g minced pork marinated using the above ingredients.
2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
¼ cup of white or red wine (optional).
½ tbsp salt for cooking the sauce, adjust as required.
¼ to ½ cup pasta water.
A dash of salt, as required.
METHOD:
1. Marinate the minced pork with salt, pepper, fennel seeds and grated cheese. keep in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Brush the baking pan with oil to prevent the eggplant from sticking to the pan. And then place the eggplant pieces onto the pan and brush with a bit of oil. Bake or roast for 10 minutes. Alternatively, instead of baking or roasting, sauté the eggplant in a pan for 5 to 7 minutes and remove to a bowl.
3. Boil a large pot of water and add salt when the water starts boiling.
4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions until al dente. This is from 6 to 9 minutes. Stir the pasta every 3 – 4 minutes to prevent it from clumping together.
5. Heat 2 to 3 tbsp EVOO in a pan. Set the flame at low to medium.
6. Add the chopped carrot, onion, and celery to prepare the soffritto. Sauté the ingredients for 3 minutes or until it is translucent and fragrant.
7. Then add the marinated pork. Stir and mix them with the vegetables.
8. Sauté for 5 minutes and add wine while sautéing.
9. Add the baked eggplant and stir and mix with the other ingredients for 1 minute.
10. When the pasta is al dente, drain and toss the pasta into the pan.
11. Add some pasta water from the pasta pot.
12. Stir and mix the ingredients for 1 minute on a low flame, making sure that the pasta is coated with the sauce produced by the ingredients. Add a dash of salt, as required.
13. Switch off the flame and transfer the dish to plates.
14. Add a dash of pepper and chilli flakes and serve hot.
Prep Time: 20 mins.
Cook Time: 15 mins.
Total Time: 35 mins.
Serves: 4.
Cuisine inspiration: Italian.