Aubergine and Tomato Pasta

Preparation:  15 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

This Mediterranean inspired dish is packed full of flavour, so don't be put off by the lack of meat! The rich tomato sauce combined with the aubergine is a real treat and it is so inexpensive. Although I do recommend you use fresh herbs in this recipe if they are not easily accessible to you you can substitute a teaspoon of the dried stuff. 

Ingredients:

1 Aubergine

3 Garlic Cloves

1 Red Onion 

1 Yellow Pepper

1 Tin Tomatoes

30g Tomato Puree

8 Fresh Basil Leaves

Handful Fresh Parsely

1tsp Cayenne Pepper

3 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt + Cracked Black Pepper
75g Chosen Pasta (Per Person)

Method:

The first thing to do with this recipe is to prepare the aubergine. We do this by washing it, and taking the stalk end off. Chop it into about 2cm cubes, and make sure they are uniform. Get these into a bowl and cover them with a good amount of salt. This salt wont be a part of the finished product, it is just being used to draw the moisture out of the aubergine. This should take about 30 minutes, the perfect amount of time to prepare your sauce.

Chop the onion and garlic and get them into a pan with some olive oil at a medium heat. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes and keep the contents of the pan moving as you don't want to burn the garlic. Add the tin of tomatoes and the puree. To get the remaining juice from the tin, fill it to a quarter of the way with water and give it a good swish around, then add this too. Give it a good stir.

Chop the pepper into roughly 1 cm squares and finely chop the parsley, add these straight to the pan with the cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and a good pinch of pepper. Get these incorporated then roughly tear the basil and let it sit on top of the sauce. Put a lid on the pan and bring it to a simmer.

When the sauce has been simmering for about 20 minutes, squeeze any extra moisture out of the aubergine. Wash the salt off well, and pat them dry on some paper towels. At this point you should have a pot of salted boiling water ready for your pasta, and another frying pan at a medium high heat for the aubergine.

Cook your chosen pasta by the packaging instructions, but allow about 10 - 12 minutes usually. Get the pasta on and start to fry your aubergine. Once the aubergine has a nice golden colour on each side season it with a bit of salt and pepper and add it to your sauce. If it needs it, loosen your sauce with about 3 tbsp of the pasta water when your draining the pasta.

To Serve:

This recipe can easily serve 3 - 4 people. Divide the pasta, and add a nice amount of the sauce over the top. Garnish with a couple of baby basil leaves or some parsley, and finish with some crumbled feta over the top. This is a very tasty dish and is perfect on a warm sunny day.