So with that lovely japanese eggplant lurking in the fridge, I picked up a pint of cherry tomatoes and put together a quick pasta sauce one night.
Ingredients:
1 japanese eggplant, cut into chunks (quartered lengthwise and chopped)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 anchovy
Copious garlic, minced
Chopped basil
Salt/Pepper
Olive oil
Penne
Wheee, summer!
I cut the anchovy up into very small pieces and cooked that first, dissolving it into the olive oil. Then I softened the garlic and added in the eggplant, then salted it. Eggplant, I will say once again, needs to be WELL-COOKED, and I don’t just mean “cooked with skill,” I mean “cooked thoroughly,” so that it is silky and delicious instead of bitter and spongy. I covered the pan a couple times to help it soften.
Once all the eggplant pieces were getting so they felt squishy under my spoon, I added in the halved cherry tomatoes and cooked the whole kit and kaboodle for a brief while.
When everything was nicely melded I tossed in a handful of basil ribbons and turned off the heat until the pasta was cooked. Then, after draining the pasta, I brilliantly poured the sauce over the pasta (in the pot) to toss it, instead of spooning pasta into sauce (my pan was too small). As a result, I had a bit too much pasta for the amount of sauce I had, SIGH. I crumbled feta on top and put on a few tiny basil leaves.
Despite the excess pasta, it was quite tasty and Ben really loved it. He seems to like nearly every vegetable now, which is a pleasant development.
Ok, now I am literally walking out the door to London, THIS VERY MINUTE. See you on the flip-side!
Neat photos. Great looking dish. Think I’ll give it a try sometime soon.
Heading to London. Wow. Admiration from the rural outback of Illinois, USA.
My sister visited England twice. She loved it, and she still talks of those trips..
OMG I have so many eggplants growing in my garden I’m afraid they are going to come to life and choke me.
I needed this simple recipe in the WORST way – now if only I could get Jan to eat eggplant, things might balance out fine.
Try making this and not telling him what’s in it. If you peeled the eggplant it would completely dissolve; as it was you couldn’t really see it! And the flavor is fantastic so if he’d just try it I bet he’d be happy.