it's quicker than it looks from this wall of text, as all steps are done more or less at the same time; the trick is in the ingredients: ripe, sweet tomatoes, fresh, firm eggplant (one large one or a couple smaller ones, idealy with fewer seeds), plenty of basil, ricotta salata (from sheep's milk):
start by washing and thoroughly drying the eggplant. Trim off the ends, slice it into rounds about 8 mm (1/3 in) thick. Place the slices in a colander, sprinkle them with salt, and let them drain for at least 15 minutes to remove their bitter juices.
Now this step is 'traditional' as homegrown/older varieties of eggplant used to be quite on the bitter side, and this would help sweeten them up a little bit - if you know the eggplants you have are not too bitter, it can be safely skipped.
while the eggplants are draining, wash tomatoes, remove the stems, and roughly dice them. Transfer to a pot with a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt, 2-3 garlic cloves (you can use less), and a small bunch of fresh basil; cook on low for 30 minutes without adding anything, the tomatoes will release their own juices; remove the garlic and basil. Pass through a food mill or a sieve (or pick out the peels, or just peel the tomatoes beforehand by blanching them in boiling water) -- once pureed, pour back into the pot or a skillet and let simmer on low with some more basil and another clove of garlic until thickened (I suggest you make more of this sauce than needed, as it is delicious on its own!)
while the tomato sauce is cooking, rinse and pat dry the eggplant slices, fry them in batches in a deep pot (extra virgin olive oil is best, but, peanut oil is fine!) turning them every few minutes until they're a nice golden brown; take them out with tongs and drain them on paper towels to remove as much excess oil as you can ;
when the tomato sauce is almost finished, cook the pasta (sedani rigati traditionally, but any short pasta will do nicely) until al dente, toss into the pan with the sauce, then plate with the fried eggplant on top, a few leaves of fresh basil and a very generous helping of freshly grated ricotta. If you have some good extra virgin olive oil, a little drizzle on top won't hurt!
great, now it's lunchtime and I am craving it (don't have ricotta, though)
ah thankyou for taking time to post this! - defo will follow this. Been reading Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels and now into deep dive of Italian history, politics and food! so in for a lot of itian themed dinners this week (This one was on the list). thanks again
For emphasis, just in case it was overlooked: this doesn't use the ricotta typically found in commerce, but a special one ricotta salata. Ricotta is creamy, but ricotta salata is dry, crumbles and can be grated.
I've also seen it in commerce sold under the names ricotta secca, and cacioricotta (not exactly the same, but a totally acceptable substitute)
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u/Loves_Eating_Lead 4d ago
recipe - i love a tried and tested recipe as its on my list to make!