Eggplant Caponata Pasta With Ricotta And Basil Recipes

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.

GRILLED EGGPLANT CAPONATA BRUSCHETTA WITH RICOTTA SALATA

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
• Brush the tomatoes and eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes each side. Grill the tomatoes until charred all over, about 8 minutes. Remove the eggplant and tomatoes from the heat and cut into dice.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a large saute pan. Add the celery and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the olives, vinegar, raisins, capers, sugar, chile flakes, a big splash olive oil, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and parsley and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer the caponata to a bowl and keep at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. The caponata can be made 1 day in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring the caponata to room temperature before serving.
• Meanwhile, grill the bread on both sides until slightly charred, about 30 seconds each side. Remove the bread from the grill and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each slice of bread with some of the caponata and sprinkle with the ricotta salata. Drizzle the top of each slice of bread with more olive oil and scatter basil on top.

CAPONATA PASTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 8-10 mins until starting to caramelise (or for longer if you have time - the sweeter the better). Add the garlic for the final 2 mins of cooking time.
• Tip in the mixed veg, tomatoes, capers and raisins. Season well and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins, or until you have a rich sauce.
• Meanwhile, boil the kettle. Pour the kettleful of water into a large pan with a little salt and bring back to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender with a little bite, then drain, reserving some of the pasta water. Tip the pasta into the sauce, adding a splash of pasta water if it needs loosening. Scatter with the basil leaves and parmesan, if you like, and serve straight from the pan

PASTA WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT, RICOTTA, AND BASIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• In a jelly-roll pan toss eggplant with 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste and roast in oven, shaking pan occasionally, until golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While eggplant is roasting, in a heavy skillet cook onion, garlic, and bell pepper with salt and pepper to taste in remaining tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• Add tomatoes and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes and pepper are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in vinegar and roasted eggplant.
• In a kettle of boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente and drain well, reserving about 3/4 cup cooking water. In a bowl toss pasta well with sauce, ricotta, basil, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and enough reserved cooking water to reach desired consistency.