Fusilli with Baked Eggplant and Marinara Sauce

I simply adore pasta; both cooking and eating it, of course. 😉 I like to try them out with different flavors and sauces. Sometimes, they turn out great and a few other times–let’s just say, not so great! Eggplant/Aubergine/Brinjal- whatever name suits you best– in  pasta might not be a new combination, but I was trying to make it for the first time. I was a little hesitant at first wondering what if it becomes too lacy or the taste of eggplant overpowers the whole dish? Thankfully, nothing like that happened. 🙂 It just gave a subtle flavor to the whole dish and gelled very well with the tomatoes.

Did you know: Eggplant tastes bitter in its raw form. Therefore, the fruit should go through a process called ”degorging” which involves soaking sliced or diced vegetables/fruits in salt water, resulting in loss of moisture and removal of the bitterness from them. Make sure to rinse them in clean water before use. This process also reduces oil absorption of the vegetables.

To make the dish, this is what you will need:-

• Servings: 5-6
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients

• 250 gm cooked pasta (al dente)
• 4 medium sized eggplants
• 4-5 red tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 green chili
• 1 handful green beans
• Grated Cheese
• 1 tsp sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt to taste
• Black olives for garnish

1. Wash and dice eggplants; place them in salt water for 15 minutes. Drain and stick them into a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 degree centigrade.

2. In the meantime, make tomato puree, chop onions, garlic, green chili and 1 tomato.

3. Add pasta to boiling water and a tsp of salt.
4. Heat oil in a pan and toast garlic, add green chili on a medium flame.

5. Sweat onions. Add a dash of salt to quicken the process.

6. Add tomato puree, tomatoes, sugar and green beans. Cover the lid and cook on a medium flame. If it gets too dry add ½ cup water.

7. Add baked eggplants and cooked pasta to the sauce. Give it a toss, sprinkle Parmesan cheese, black pepper and olives.
8. Serve hot.

9. I baked the rest for 20 minutes at 200 degree centigrade in a pre-heated oven or bake until a brown layer forms on the cheese(I have used Processed cheese over here). During the layering, I added little grated cheese in the middle, ensuring my pasta doesn’t get all dried up.

I preferred the baked version, although the former wasn’t all that bad! Probably, I was in a mood to eat it the cheesy way! 😉

Happy Cooking!

I am linking this recipe to Sliceoffme and Tinned Tomatoes for the Pasta Please Challenge