Recipe: Eggplant Tomato Spaghetti Sauce | Food and Wine Pairing

Adventures in Eating: Eggplant Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
by Rosemarie | March 1983

I absolutely love eggplant (aubergine) and hope some of you share the same feelings. Arabs brought us the eggplant from India about 1500 years ago and the purplish egg-shaped vegetable has found itself to be a versatile morsel.

Middle-eastern cooking is known to use the eggplant a variety of ways. My mother has sauteed, stuffed, barbecued, roasted, pickled, and even made soup from the eggplant.

I thought you might enjoy the following pasta sauce, made from eggplant. They are beautiful this year, and the shiny, deep purple color, are the ones to look for at your grocer.

 

EGGPLANT TOMATO SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 med. (1¼1b) eggplant                            1 T fresh basil, chopped, or ½T dried

Salt                                                                Black pepper,  fresh ground

Vegetable oil for frying                              1 lb spaghetti

2 T olive oil                                                  1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated, prefer import.

½ Onion, chopped, sauteed                    1½ cups fresh or canned tomato sauce

1 t garlic, fine chopped

 

1. Peel eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and let stand in colander 30 minutes. Rinse, drain, and pat dry with paper towels. Heat about 3/4 inch of vegetable oil and fry the eggplant over high heat until golden brown all over. Drain on paper towels. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in saucepan and saute onion until transparent, add garlic and sautee 1 minute (do not let it get brown). Add the tomato sauce, basil, and taste for seasoning. Cook over low heat 5 minutes, stirring. Fold in chunks of eggplant and continue cooking slowly for 5 minutes longer. Set aside.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water (with a little oil) until just tender. Drain, and put on hot platter. Pour heated sauce over it and sprinkle par­mesan cheese over all. You can vary this by adding bits of leftover chicken or adding a small peeled, freshly chopped tomato.(The Italians use a great deal of fresh tomatoes in their pomodoro sauces).Pass a bowl of extra parmesan cheese. A salad and garlic bread will finish this off.  Bon Appetit!