Eggplant And Pasta Incaciata Food

PASTA INCACIATA (BAKED PASTA WRAPPED IN EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) SLI

Steps:

• The day before serving, slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1/4inch slices. Sprinkle with the salt and lay the slices on top of one another in 1 large colander or in 2 small colanders. Place a dish on top and weight it down (a large can of tomatoes works well.) Drain for 20 minutes. Dry the eggplant slices with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper if you're not using a non-stick pan. Brush the paper and eggplant slices with the olive oil and cook in the over for 25 minutes, until lightly brown. Set aside.
• For The Bechamel Sauce:.
• Bring the milk to a soft boil in a large saucepan. In another large saucepan, make a roux by stirring butter and flour over medium heat until they form a thick paste. Add the nutmeg to the boiling milk and then pour it, a little at a time, into the warm roux, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. When all the milk has been added, continue whisking over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
• For the Filling:.
• Bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta until just tender. Drain well, return to the pot and toss with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside.
• To Assemble:.
• Grease a deep 9x17 inch baking dish and coat with the bread crumbs. Line the pan with the cooked eggplant slices, edge-to-edge, and hanging over the sides of the pan. (It's okay if there are spaces showing between the slices.) About 9 slices should be enough to cover the dish.
• Mix the cooked pasta with 3 cups of the ragu sauce, 1 cup of the bechamel sauce and half of each the cheeses. Stir well. Pour half the pasta mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the ham, the remaining cheeses, ragu sauce, bechamel sauce and pasta mixture.
• Fold the eggplant slices over the top and cover with approximately 5 more slices. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place a baking sheet on top with 3 large cans to weight it down. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
• The day of serving, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap, re-cover the dish of pasta with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hours. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
• To serve, invert onto a large serving dish a cut into wedges or thick slices.
• Serves 10-12.

ANTONIA'S PASTA ALLE MELENZANA (EGGPLANT PASTA)

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 cup of oil and the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and eggplant and cook gently over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until tender. It may be necessary to add more oil as the eggplant soaks the oil up quickly. Towards the end of cooking time, add the whole garlic cloves and half of the basil leaves.
• In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the tomatoes for 4 to 5 minutes until the skin splits and the tomatoes are softened. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place them in a mesh colander set over a large bowl. Reserve the cooking liquid.
• When they are cool enough to handle, core the tomatoes and peel off the skin. Using clean hands, squish the tomatoes, pushing the pulp through the sieve into the bowl underneath. At first you will have a watery liquid. Add the tomato liquid to the eggplant and then continue to push the tomato pulp through the sieve, until you have only seeds and hard pulp pieces left. Finally, add the rest of the pulpy liquid to the eggplants and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the sugar and continue to cook for 10 more minutes, until thickened.
• In the meantime, bring the reserved cooking liquid back to a boil, add additional salt, and cook the fettuccine according to directions on the package. Drain well.
• To serve, spoon a third of the eggplant into a bowl and set aside. Toss the pasta in the saute pan with the remaining eggplant and add the packaged mozzarella. Place the mixture in a large serving bowl and top with the reserved eggplant, the fresh mozzarella and the Parmesan. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves and serve hot.

BAKED EGGPLANT AND PANCETTA PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and 1 cup water. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, add the basil and simmer rapidly, uncovered, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the basil and season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the eggplant to the pancetta drippings and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the pancetta.
• Cook the cavatappi in the salted boiling water until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl with the pancetta and eggplant.
• Add the tomato sauce, half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan to the bowl and stir well to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to a 3- to 4-quart baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until browned, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta stand about 10 minutes before serving.

EGGPLANT PASTA

Steps:

• Peel each eggplant leaving 1-inch of skin at the top and bottom unpeeled. Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick. Evenly coat each slice with the salt and purge on a sheet pan fitted with a rack for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and roll in paper towels to dry. Slice the pieces into thin strips to resemble pasta.
• In a large saute pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and chili flakes and toast. Add the eggplant "pasta" and toss to coat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cream and increase heat to thicken sauce. Finally add the basil and Parmesan and toss to combine. Season with pepper, no salt needed as the eggplant will have residual salt from the purge. Serve immediately.

EGGPLANT PASTA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir garlic until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggplant; cook, stirring constantly, until eggplant is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and juice; cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 20 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Pour sauce over pasta.