Ingredients
- 1 large whole eggplant
- 1 large head of garlic
- EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
- 2 pints grape tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound cavatappi-shaped pasta
- 1 large handful (about 20 or so) fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
- 1/4 pound chunk of ricotta salata, crumbled (1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese can be substituted
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut 4 to 5 slits on one side of the eggplant and place it slit-side-up on a baking sheet. Trim about an inch off the top of the head of garlic, just exposing the tops of the cloves inside. Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little EVOO, wrap it up and place it in the oven alongside the eggplant. Roast them both for about 30-40 minutes, until the eggplant looks like a flat tire.
When the eggplant and garlic only have about 15 minutes left to roast, put the grape tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle them with some EVOO and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for about 15 minutes.
Place a large pot of water over high heat with a lid on it and bring up to a boil. Once boiling, add some salt and cook the pasta according to the package directions to al dente. Right before draining the pasta, remove and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta-cooking water.
Once the eggplant, garlic and tomatoes are all roasted, remove everything from the oven. Split the eggplant open and scoop out all of the roasted flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin. Transfer the flesh to a large serving bowl along with the roasted tomatoes
Squeeze out the roasted garlic flesh from the papery shell and add to the eggplant and tomatoes. With the back of a fork or a potato masher, smash up the eggplant, tomatoes and garlic until thoroughly combined. Add some salt, freshly ground black pepper, and the reserved pasta-cooking liquid to the bowl, stirring and smashing to combine.
Add the pasta and toss to coat. Let the pasta sit for a couple minutes to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Just before serving, top with the torn basil and crumbled ricotta salata or a large dollop of the ricotta cheese. serve with a salad.
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