I love recipes that are simple, delicious, and made up mostly of stuff you always have in your pantry. This is one of my favorite pasta dishes and a frequent request when my friends come over for dinner. It technically is not vegetarian as it has anchovies in it but many vegetarians (depending on their reasoning) are okay with fish flavoring, like in anchovies in caesar salad or fish stock in miso soup.
There are two basic components to this dish that are prepared separately and then combined just before being added to the pasta. The red sauce that is prepared in a pan and the eggplant slices that are prepared in the oven.
Ingredients: (3-4 servings)
2 medium large eggplants
1 can Italian peeled tomatoes (diced will also work)
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 can anchovies
Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp flat Italian parsley, minced
1 tbsp basil, minced
2-4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fettuccine
Method:
For the Eggplant:
1. Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds
2. Fill a large mixing bowl about 2/3 of the way with water and stir in 3-4 tbsp of salt until dissolved
3. Add the eggplant rounds to the salt water, make sure they can all be submerged, otherwise get an additional bowl
4. Place a plate on top of the floating eggplant and place a weight (like a small plant, a can of something, a mug filled with water) on the plate so that all the rounds remain submerged
5. Allow eggplant to soak for AT LEAST 30 minutes, but up to 5 hours
6. Preheat oven to 425
7. After soaking, remove the rounds, placing them on a clean dishtowel or paper towel and gently press out the water until they are dry
8. Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet, they should be close but not touching. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
9. Bake them for 30-40 minutes, checking periodically and flipping them halfway through
10. When they are finished, stack them up and cut the whole stack in half or quarters, up to you
For the sauce:
1. In a sauté pan, add the shallots, the can of anchovies (with all their oil), and about 1 tbsp of olive oil. When you are cooking anchovies for a long time like this, there is no need to cut them up, they will dissolve by themselves
2. Cook until the shallots are translucent, about 10-20 minutes
3. Add the can of tomatoes. If you are using whole peeled like I did, use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the chunks. As it simmers they will further fall apart
4. Once the eggplant is out of the oven and cut, add the pieces to the tomato sauce
5. Pour your sauce over fettuccine, prepared however you normally cook pasta
6. Top with your minced basil and parsley and grated Parmesan cheese
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