Eggplant And Pasta Incaciata Recipes

EGGPLANT PASTA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir garlic until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggplant; cook, stirring constantly, until eggplant is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and juice; cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 20 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Pour sauce over pasta.

PASTA INCACIATA (BAKED PASTA WRAPPED IN EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) SLI

Steps:

• The day before serving, slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1/4inch slices. Sprinkle with the salt and lay the slices on top of one another in 1 large colander or in 2 small colanders. Place a dish on top and weight it down (a large can of tomatoes works well.) Drain for 20 minutes. Dry the eggplant slices with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper if you're not using a non-stick pan. Brush the paper and eggplant slices with the olive oil and cook in the over for 25 minutes, until lightly brown. Set aside.
• For The Bechamel Sauce:.
• Bring the milk to a soft boil in a large saucepan. In another large saucepan, make a roux by stirring butter and flour over medium heat until they form a thick paste. Add the nutmeg to the boiling milk and then pour it, a little at a time, into the warm roux, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. When all the milk has been added, continue whisking over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
• For the Filling:.
• Bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta until just tender. Drain well, return to the pot and toss with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside.
• To Assemble:.
• Grease a deep 9x17 inch baking dish and coat with the bread crumbs. Line the pan with the cooked eggplant slices, edge-to-edge, and hanging over the sides of the pan. (It's okay if there are spaces showing between the slices.) About 9 slices should be enough to cover the dish.
• Mix the cooked pasta with 3 cups of the ragu sauce, 1 cup of the bechamel sauce and half of each the cheeses. Stir well. Pour half the pasta mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the ham, the remaining cheeses, ragu sauce, bechamel sauce and pasta mixture.
• Fold the eggplant slices over the top and cover with approximately 5 more slices. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place a baking sheet on top with 3 large cans to weight it down. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
• The day of serving, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap, re-cover the dish of pasta with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hours. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
• To serve, invert onto a large serving dish a cut into wedges or thick slices.
• Serves 10-12.

EGGPLANT PASTA WITH BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Peel the eggplant, leaving 1 inch of skin at the top and bottom. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (I would use a mandoline for this).
• Place the eggplant slices on a cooling rack set over the sink and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Wait 15 minutes, flip, sprinkle again and wait another 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cool water and gently squeeze out excess water. Place on paper towels and pat dry, then cut the slices into 1/4-inch-wide strips so that they resemble linguine.
• Heat a 10-inch saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it shimmers, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and toss for 10 seconds. Add the eggplant and toss to coat. Add the tomato and toss for 15 to 20 seconds. Add the cream and toss for another 10 seconds. Finish with the basil and Parmesan. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with the breadcrumbs, toss and serve immediately.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND BASIL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the raisins, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook about 2 minutes, then cover and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high. Stir in half the eggplant to coat evenly in the oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned in spots, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. (Eggplant should brown and tenderize but still maintain its shape.) Heat another 1/4 cup oil, then add remaining eggplant; season and repeat.
• While the eggplant cooks, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. (You might not use all the pasta water.)
• Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the shallot, pine nuts, capers, garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring frequently, until the shallot is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant, along with the sliced basil and vinegar.
• Strain the soaked raisins, discarding the soaking liquid, then add the raisins to the eggplant mixture and toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. The mixture should taste quite aggressively salty and tangy, but it will mellow when tossed with pasta and ricotta. (Eggplant mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
• Add eggplant mixture, pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss to coat over medium heat until eggplant is warmed, adding extra pasta water if necessary. Divide among shallow bowls, top with ricotta and additional torn basil and serve immediately. Pass with additional olive oil for drizzling, if desired.

SPICY EGGPLANT AND PASTA WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta; cook until browned on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; cook until eggplant is slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Pour marinara sauce, tomatoes, and wine into the skillet. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic salt, sugar, and white pepper. Stir and cover. Let sauce simmer until flavors combine, about 20 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain; mix with the sauce.

SICILIAN PASTA WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Peel garlic. Trim stem ends of eggplants. Halve eggplants lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. In a large sieve drain tomatoes. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and squeeze to break into smaller pieces.
• In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil for pasta.
• In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat 1 cup oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry eggplant in 2 batches, turning, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer eggplant as fried with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, arranging it in one layer. Season eggplant with salt and pepper.
• Pour off oil from skillet and wipe clean with paper towels. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to skillet and cook garlic over low heat, stirring, until golden. Stir in tomatoes with any juices that have accumulated in bowl and simmer, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• While sauce is simmering, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Transfer half of tomato sauce with half of ricotta salata to a large bowl and toss with pasta and half of eggplant, adding some reserved pasta cooking water if sauce becomes too thick. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and top with remaining sauce and eggplant and some of remaining cheese.
• Garnish pasta with basil and serve remaining cheese on the side.