Rigatoni With Eggplant And Fresh Mozzarella Recipes

RIGATONI WITH TOMATOES, EGGPLANT, AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Trim both ends of the eggplant and slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Chop the slices into 1/2-inch dice.
• Place a large saucepan over medium heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant and as soon as it hits the pan stir with a spoon so the pieces become delicately coated with the oil on all sides and not soaked on just a single side. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 or 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic and onion and cook, still stirring occasionally, until they take on a little color. Add the tomatoes and vinegar, stir them around, and season with salt and pepper. At this point, if you want to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chille, but that's up to you. Add the basil sprigs and simmer the sauce nice and gently for about 15 minutes. By this time the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy, tomatoe-y pulp, which is just yum yum yum! If desired, fish out the basil sprigs. Stir in the cream.
• Meanwhile, while the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions, or until it's soft but still holding its shape. Drain the pasta, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle olive oil and move it around so it becomes sorta dressed with the water and oil.
• At this point, add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta and season with salt and pepper to taste. When all my guests are sitting round the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the basil leaves, and gently fold these, tossing and stirring things about for 30 seconds. Then I very quickly heap out portions into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have begun to melt, so it will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting and just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Set out a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

RIGATONI WITH ITALIAN EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook. Continue stirring until softened, about 3 more minutes.
• Add tomatoes, with liquid, breaking them up with the back of spoon. Stir in wine, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain. Toss pasta with sauce in pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Serve on a large platter and top with grated Romano cheese.

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Fill a 5-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil for pasta.
• Chop onion and cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Mince garlic. In a large deep heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add eggplant and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until eggplant is lightly browned.
• Add 1/2 cup water to eggplant mixture and cook, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, adding more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if mixture becomes dry, until eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and simmer, stirring vigorously to break up tomatoes, 5 minutes, or until mixture has a sauce-like consistency. Stir in garlic and basil and season with salt.
• While sauce is simmering, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente and drain well in a colander. Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat.
• Divide pasta between 2 bowls and serve with dollops of ricotta on top.

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the diced eggplant in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the red pepper and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, and bring to a simmer; season with fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the tomatoes have reduced slightly, about 15 minutes.
• bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil; stir in the rigatoni and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
• Stir the eggplant mixture into the pasta along with the basil and olives. Spoon the tomato sauce overtop to serve.

RIGATONI WITH CREAMY EGGPLANT AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the onion and garlic and cook until just softened. Add eggplant, stir to coat in oil, then let cook, stirring rarely, until softened and golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove half eggplant mixture and reserve.
• Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, add the tomatoes, cream, and half the basil, and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld and sauce is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
• Drain pasta and return to the pot off the heat. Pour sauce over top and stir until well coated. Add reserved eggplant, remaining basil, and mozzarella and mix until the cheese starts to soften. Serve immediately.

RIGATONI WITH TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to take on color, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in red-pepper flakes.
• Stir garlic mixture into reserved tomato mixture. Add parsley, oregano, mozzarella, and pasta; toss.

RIGATONI WITH SWEET TOMATOES, EGGPLANT AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into ½ inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into ½ inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don't really do this unless I'm dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.
• Now put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When it's hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan, stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that's up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.
• While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.
• At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! (Jamie's words) Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. Take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.