Italian
Pasta with 4 Eggplants
A creative pasta dish featuring four varieties of eggplant (pearl, purple, white, black), fried and tossed with cherry tomatoes, scamorza cheese, Parmesan, and fresh herbs.
- Difficulty
- medium
Ingredients
11 items- EggplantsPearl, purple, white, and black varieties
- 1 pcsSpring OnionFinely chopped
- 1 pcsGarlicCrushed or grated
- Piennolo TomatoesCherry tomatoes, halved
- Dried OreganoDried oregano, preferably from Syracuse
- Fresh MintA few leaves; avoid peppermint variety if too strong
- ScamorzaVery fresh, cut into small pieces
- Parmigiano ReggianoGrated to taste
- PastaSpaghetti or other long pasta, cooked al dente
- Extra Virgin Olive OilFor frying and the sauce
- Coarse SaltCoarse salt for purging and pasta water
Method
- Cut all four types of eggplants into slices. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and let purge for 20–30 minutes to remove bitterness and excess moisture.
- Heat a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan. Add finely chopped spring onion and one crushed clove of garlic. Sauté until fragrant.
- Add halved Piennolo cherry tomatoes and cook until they soften and release their juices, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fry the purged eggplant slices in hot oil until golden and crispy on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
- Add a portion of the fried eggplant pieces to the tomato sauce. Season with dried oregano and a few fresh mint leaves. Stir to combine.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving a little pasta water.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Add a splash of pasta water if needed.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add scamorza cheese cut into small pieces and stir until melted and creamy.
- Grate Parmesan cheese over the pasta and toss again.
- Serve the pasta topped with reserved fried eggplant pieces and a sprinkle of fresh mint.