This is such an amazing pasta dressing! It is perfect for meatless Mondays or vegetarian days. It is so tasty, I promise you won't miss the meat! It is so versatile, it is equally delicious with handmade fresh egg pasta or dry, hard wheat pasta.

This THE perfect summer dish, it explodes with bright Mediterranean flavors! It reminds me of southern Italy and its amazing vegetables exploding with flavor. This dish calls for ripe, juicy tomatoes; mild aubergines/eggplants, a little hot pepper and a little garlic, lots of fresh basil, plus a nice savoury seasoned cheese and fresh, fruity olive oil.

Below you’ll find

VIDEO - RECIPE - ABOUT INGREDIENTS

Ingredients

Serves 4 persons as a first course or 3 as a single course meal. 

• 1 -2 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1-2 dried hot Italian peppers (pepperoncino)

• 12-16 sweet cherry tomatoes (see About Ingredients section below)

• 600g or 2 medium sized sweet aubergine/eggplants (see About Ingredients section below)

• a large bunch fresh basil

• 100/3.5 oz grams of Pecorino Romano cheese, Ricotta salata or very good quality Feta cheese (see About Ingredients section below)

• Extra virgin olive oil for cooking

• Excellent quality extra virgin olive oil to finish  

• 350 grams of hard wheat pasta or fresh egg pasta.
  A short shape with some sort of cavity is ideal such as rigatoni, orecchiette (little ears), bowties or garganelli are ideal.

NOTE: Keep in mind that hard wheat pasta takes longer to cook than fresh egg pasta. Fresh pasta takes less time to cook while dry hard wheat pasta can take up to 15 minutes, check package directions for exact time.

Method

Prepare the ingredients as indicated and set aside, each in its own bowl or dish: 

• Wash, dry and cut aubergines/eggplants into bite sized cubes,

• Wash cherry tomatoes and cut into small bites sized pieces, 

• Grate cheese, I like to use the larger holes of the grater,

• Rinse and dry basil. Tear up the basil into small piecesith your hands. 

Ready to cook

1. Drizzle a non-stick skillet with a bit of regular olive oil (extra virgin but not the expensive stuff). 

2. Crush the garlic with the flat side of a large knife, remove its green germ and place immediately in the skillet with the the olive oil. 

3. Crush the hot peppers directly into the olive oil. Remember to wash your hands immediately after handling hot pepper because anything you touch will sting (eyes, mouth, nose)!

4. Warm the skillet over medium-low heat and as it cooks the garlic will begin to become golden (do not let it brown though - that would be a different flavor profile). Once it is golden you may remove it as its done its job of flavoring the olive oil. 

5. At this point add the aubergine/ eggplant and raise the heat to medium-high, stirring regularly to prevent it from sticking. This step requires frequent turning the aubergine/eggplant to ensure it cooks evenly. 
   NOTE: Do not add extra olive oil because the eggplant will absorb the oil and then it becomes a heavy dish. If necessary, lower the heat or stir more frequently.

6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water boils, add coarse salt (never add oil to the water).  If using packaged pasta, add it now and check package directions for cooking time.

7. After the aubergines are almost cooked (see note below), add the cut tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Salt lightly and lower the heat.

8. NOTE: The Aubergines are done when their exterior is an opaque white and/or browned. You could also put a toothpick or knife through it to test it. If it goes through without resistance, they are done. 

9. Cook your pasta in boiling salted water. Drain when cooked (taste to test doneness). 

Time to assemble the dish

1. Immediately toss cooked pasta with cooked aubergine/eggplant and tomatoes, either in the skillet or a large bowl. Toss well.

2. Then add the grated cheese and hand-torn basil; toss well. 

3. Add a generous drizzle of high quality olive oil; toss thoroughly. 

   TIP: Tossing between ingredients prevents the ingredients from clumping together. 

4. You may add extra cheese to each individual plate. Serve immediately and enjoy!

About Ingredients

BEST AUBERGINES/EGGPLANTS
I recommend seeking out the “sweet” variety of aubergines/eggplants which are either striped (violet and white), all white, or violet with white tinges by the stem area on the outside and completely white on the inside. These varieties do not require salting or peeling to remove bitterness because they are not bitter. 

TOMATOES
It is not necessary to cook the tomatoes, specially on a hot day. Raw tomatoes that are ripe and tasty are wonderfully refreshing and also give you a nice variation on this dish.

CHEESES

Ricotta salata is a dairy product from the Puglia region of Italy. Ricotta salata literally means salty ricotta and while it tastes somewhat salty, its main characteristic is that it is hard because its been seasoned for 30 days and lost up to 50% of the water of regular, fresh ricotta. 

If you cannot source ricotta salata you can substitute it with Pecorino Romano (hard sheep’s cheese from Rome) or good quality Greek Feta cheese (made with either sheep or goat or a blend of the two). While these two cheeses have different consistencies, they both confer the tasty sharpness required in this dish.

Enjoy! Buon Appetito!