Hitting the farmers market in the heat of August is one of life’s great pleasures: crates overflowing with peaches and plums, baskets of sweet corn ready to be shucked, tomatoes of all shapes, sizes and colors nearly bursting with their sun-warmed juices, abundance-dazed shoppers cradling enormous watermelons like newborns while trying to balance more produce-stuffed bags than one person can reasonably carry.
With all this star power, it’s easy to overlook the humble eggplant. But don’t miss out on them in peak season when their earthy sweetness is so much more concentrated, making them a great canvas for summer grilling, frying and pastas. For a classic Italian combo, try this blistered eggplant tomato pasta, a variation on the Sicilian classic pasta alla Norma. It’s great as an outdoor dinner party centerpiece or as a bowl of comfort for a night inside in front of the A.C.
Eggplants are sponges for flavor, and this recipe looks to double down on that. The first step is roasting the eggplant, giving it a deeper color and flavor before it goes into the sauce. (Undercooking the eggplant before putting it in the sauce could lead to an astringent taste and watery texture.) Unlike in the Sicilian version of this dish, this sauce calls for onions and garlic as a base, which, to me, leads to a more satisfying dish in the end.
Like many of Wine Spectator’s 8 & $20 recipes, this pasta can be adapted to suit your taste—light it up with more red chile or swap the dried flakes out for fruity Calabrian chile paste (or even harissa, if you want to really play around). While I suggest finishing the dish with a snowfall of parmesan cheese, a glug of grassy olive oil and/or couple of cranks of black pepper, I’d also welcome a couple dollops of sweet, creamy ricotta or stracchiatella, a torn ball of burrata, or a dusting of grated ricotta salata—just like Sicilians do.
The resulting pasta is sweet and fruity from the tomatoes, but it has an earthiness from the eggplant, plus a bit of fire from the red chile. This trifecta makes it an easy pairing for many easy-drinking Italian reds—from Sicilian Nero d’Avola to a bottle of bubbles like Lambrusco. Yet, this pasta really shines next to a fresh, ready-to-drink young Tuscan Sangiovese, like Carpineto’s Rosso di Montepulciano 2022 (88, $16), a great deal from a well-regarded producer. Not as structured as a Brunello di Montalcino, the Rosso bottling from Carpineto is juicy and bright, with cherry and blackberry flavors and a touch of supple tannin. A red that's able to deftly integrate with all the dish's elements, it's a no-brainer for this pasta dinner.
Blistered Eggplant & Tomato Pasta
Pair with a bright and supple Sangiovese, such as the Carpineto Rosso di Montepulciano 2022 (88, $16) from Tuscany.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour and 5 minutes
Approximate food costs: $13
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds globe eggplant
- 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste
- 1 pound tube pasta (e.g. rigatoni, ziti)
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons red chile flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 12 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese, olive oil and black pepper, for serving
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the eggplant into 1-inch thick rounds, then slice those rounds into quarters. Add the eggplant to a baking sheet, then coat it with the 1/3 cup of olive oil and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of salt, tossing so that each side is evenly covered. Place the sheet on the top rack of the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing at around the 20-minute mark. The eggplant should have a deep color—with blistered skins and some browning—but still be soft and juicy. Let the eggplant rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the pasta and sauce.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box for al dente, around 12 minutes. In the meantime, in a large pan, bring 1 tablespoon of olive oil up to medium heat. Add the diced onion and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and red chili flakes and stir until fragrant, about two minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste to the onion mixture and stir until it’s all brick red, about 5 minutes. Then, add the roasted eggplant, stirring to coat with the paste; try not to break up the pieces of eggplant, allowing them to keep some of their shape. Then, add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine into an integrated sauce. Bring the temperature of the sauce to low. (Don’t worry if it’s a bit thick at this point.)
4. Once the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving two cups of pasta water. Add 1 cup of pasta water to the tomato and eggplant sauce, gently stirring to incorporate. Once the sauce is thinned, fold in the pasta gently to coat. (If you want to thin the sauce further, add more pasta water 1/4 cup at a time). Let the pasta simmer for two minutes, then serve, topping with parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4.
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