Pasta alla Siciliana with Mozzarella & Eggplant Recipe

Sponsored Links:
Sponsored Links:

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 pounds small to medium eggplant, cut into 1⁄4-inch cubes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 pounds Barilla penne
  • 3 cups basic tomato sauce (see recipe below)
  • 1 cup toasted bread crumbs
  • 1⁄2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
  • 1 pound fresh Mozzarella di Bufala, cut into
  • 1⁄4-inch cubes
  • 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
  • An 8-ounce piece of Ricotta Salata, for grating
Basic tomato sauce:
  • 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1⁄4-inch dice
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1⁄2 medium carrot, fi nely shredded
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
  • Salt
METHOD
For the tomato sauce: 
  1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  2. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. 
  3. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
For the pasta dish:
  1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
  2. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until almost smoking. Working in batches, sauté the eggplant cubes, seasoning them with salt and pepper, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9- by 12-inch baking dish with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
  4. Cook the penne in the boiling water until 2 minutes short of the package instructions. Drain and shock the pasta in ice water for 2 minutes. Drain the pasta very well, place in a mixing bowl and toss with 1 cup of tomato sauce.
  5. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1⁄4 cup of the tomato sauce. Top the tomato sauce with half the breadcrumbs and then add half the cooked and sauced pasta, then half of the eggplant cubes, arranged in a layer. Dot about 1⁄4 cup of the tomato sauce over, and top with half the grated Pecorino and half of the torn basil leaves. Repeat the process with the pasta, then the eggplant, dot with the remaining tomato sauce, then the cheese and basil. Sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs, sprinkle the Mozzarella cubes evenly and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Place a generous portion on each plate, grate Ricotta Salata over and serve.
(The Celebrity Pasta Lovers’ Cookbook)
Sponsored Links:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gratin of Potatoes Girardet

Image
Gratin of Potatoes Girardet Servings: 4 Ingredients: 400 g Floury potatoes (14 oz) 20 g Unsalted butter (3/4 oz) 1 x Small clove of garlic Salt, pepper, cayenne and 200 ml Milk (scant 1/2 pint) - nutmeg 100 ml Double cream (scant 1/4 pint Instruction: IMPORTANT: The gratin is best if it is given gentle, slow cooking Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices about 3 mm (1/8 in) thick. ABOVE ALL, DO NOT WASH THEM. Peel and chop the clove of garlic very finely and mix it with the sclices of potato. Put the potatoes into a saucepan with just enough milk to cover them. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne and a few gratings of nutmeg. Put the pan over a fairly high heat and cook the potatoes for 4-5 minutes, or until you can see that the milk has blended and thickened a little with the starch given out by the potatoes. At this point, add half the cream and just bring the pan to the boil. Take it off the stove and taste for seasoning. Butter a gratin dish. This sh...
Keep reading

Stuffed-Cucumber Pickle - Oi Sobaki

Image
Cooking Time : 40 mins Total Calories : 30 kcal Serving Size : 4 INGREDIENT Cucumber : 10 (6 oz each) Leek : 2 oz Hot pepper powder : 1/2 cup Green onion : 1 stalk Garlic : 4 cloves Ginger : 1 piece Salted baby shrimps, chopped : 1 tb (available in Korean stores, optional) Salt METHOD 1. Wash the cucumbers scrubbing with salt. Cut them into 2 inches long. Make a crosswise cut about 1.5 inches deep in each piece. 2. Dissolve 4 tablespoonfuls of salt in 4 cups of water. Soak the cucumbers for about 30 minutes in the salted water. Squeeze them with gauze or paper towel to drain water thoroughly. 3. Wash and cut the leeks 1 inch long. 4. Crush garlic. Chop green onion, ginger, and salted baby shrimps. 5. Put the hot pepper powder, leeks, green onion, garlic, ginger, salted baby shrimps, and salt in a large bowl. Mix them well by hand, using rubber gloves. 6. Stuff each cucumber piece with the mixture. Place them neatly in a jar. ...
Keep reading

EGGPLANT FANS RECIPE

Image
EGGPLANT FANS RECIPE ============= ============= Ingredients: ------------ 3 medium sized eggplants, ends trimmed 2 large, firm tomatores, halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil (75 to 125 ml) 1 large onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 4 tender artichokes 1/2 cup small pitted black olives, rinsed (125 ml) 2 bay leaves, crumbled 1 tsp mixed dried thyme, oregano and savory (5 ml) Salt and pepper Instructions: ------------- Split the eggplants lengthwise. Place the halves, split side down, on a chopping board, and cut each half lengthwise into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thicknesses, leaving the slices attached at the stem end to form fans. Slip tomato slices into the slits of the eggplant halves. Oil a large gratin dish with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the olive oil, and scatter half the onion and garlic over the bottom. Arrange the eggplant halves, gently forced together, side by side in the dish. Pour the...
Keep reading