Eggplant Heaven

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the dentist's office.  Unlike many, they have a current crop of magazines. 

I was reading the October Gourmet, which had a lovely photo of a pasta and eggplant dish.  After I found the recipe (Why don't magazines make it easy to find the cover recipe?  I had to hunt though the entrees for what were obvious ingredients to identify the recipe.), the nurse at the desk offered to copy it for me.  When the copier wouldn't work, she told me to just take the magazine.  I did.  Is this a great world, or what?

Anyway, the dish is called Pasta Alla Norma, and it's a Jamie Oliver (Jamie's Italy) dish.  I thought that using two large eggplants and two large cans of tomatoes would make too much sauce for a pound of pasta, but in truth, it was delicious heavily sauced, and worked out just right.

2 large, firm eggplants
extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
optional:  1 dried red chili, crumbled (I used red pepper flakes)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
4 large bunches fresh basil, stems finely chopped, leaves reserved
1 teaspoon good herb or white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
2 24-oz. cans of good-quality chopped plum tomatoes or 2 cups passata
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. dried pasta
6 oz. salted ricotta, pecorino or Parmesan cheese, grated (I put out a bowl of grated Reggiano Parmesan)

First of all, get your nice firm eggplants and cut them into quarters lengthwise.  If they've got seedy, fluffy centers, remove them and chuck them away.  Then cut the eggplants across the length, into finger-sized pieces.  Get a large, nonstick pan nice and hot, and add a little oil.  Fry the eggplants in two batches, adding a little extra oil if you need to.

(I didn't have a large non-stick pan, so used a large saute pan.  Even so, it took about six batches to cook all the eggplant, and a considerable amount of oil.  Doesn't seem to have hurt the dish, though.)

I also decided to add a half-pound of sliced baby portabellos.

Give the eggplants a toss so the oil coats every single piece, then sprinkle with some of the dried oregano--this will make them taste fantastic. Using a pair of tongs, turn the pieces of eggplant until golden on all sides.  Remove to a plate and do the same with the second batch. 

When the eggplants are all cooked, add the first batch back to the pan--at this point, I sometimes add a sneaky dried red chili.  Turn the heat down to medium and add a little oil, the garlic and the basil stems. (I added some fresh chopped basil at this point, and then some more when the dish was finished.  This was also when I added the mushrooms.)

Stir so evcerything gets evenly cooked, then add a swig of vinegar  and the cans of tomatoes, which you can chop or whiz up (I bought cans of diced tomatoes and just tossed 'em in.)  Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then taste and correct the seasoning.  Tear up the remaining basil leaves and add to the sauce and toss around.

The recipe goes on to say you should cook a pound of spaghetti al dente then drain and add the eggplant sauce and some of the cooking water, twizzle on a ladle to make nest-like portions to plate and serve.

I cooked the pasta and put some on a plate, topped with generous sauce and parmesan.  Then I stored the sauce separately, so that for subsequent meals, I'd cook some pasta and heat the sauce to put on top.  I like that better, so if you're not planning on serving and eating it all at once, you might consider that. 

Very pukka.

If you like eggplant, this is a yummy dish.  Good for you, too, especially if you are judicious with the parmesan, which I am not.

Comments

[Amy Borgstrom]

This reminds me of the eggplant sauce LC and I made in our cooking class at Bebo Trattoria in Crystal City a few weeks ago. I also must confess I go to my dentist 20-20 minutes early because the magazine selection is so excellent!

[Houston]

Oh my god, you put mushrooms with your eggplant? Sounds good actually. I love eggplant, but there's something about the texture that's always disappointing. The mushrooms might just help resolve that issue a little.

I never liked liver because of its texture as well. Then one day, a good Texas German, Charles Elstner, fried up some calves liver the old fashioned Texas-German way, crusted and deep friend. Yum. My love of fried crust married well to the flavor of the liver and I've liked liver ever since -- as long as it's chicken fried.

Cheers.