Pasta - Baked Pasta with Aubergines

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* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Pasticcio di Maccheroni con le Melanzane - Baked Pasta with Aubergines

 

Recipe By :Diane Seed's Mediterranean Dishes

Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories :

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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3 large aubergines (eggplants) -- thinly sliced

coarse salt and freshly ground black

pepper

7 ounces olive oil

2 cloves garlic -- chopped

1 1/2 pounds canned plum tomatoes

4 fresh basil leaves

all-purpose flour for dredging

1 pound 2 ounces short pasta such as penne or

rigatoni

oil for greasing

11 ounces mozzarella cheese -- thinly sliced

1 ounce parmesan cheese -- freshly grated

 

Sprinkle the aubergines with coarse salt, place in colander and leave to drain

for 30 minutes to 'purge' their bitter juices.

For the tomato sauce heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and gently fry the onion and

garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes with their juice, season, and cook over a

high heat so the sauce thickens and retains its bright red colour. Add the

basil leaves. Pass the sauce through a food mill or sieve, or blend in a food

processor.

Pre-heat the oven to 425F.

Wash the salt off the aubergine slices, dry with a paper towel and flour

lightly. Heat the remaining olive oil and fry a few aubergine slices at a time.

They should not become too brown or crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and

drain on paper towels.

Cook the pasta in 4 litres (7pints) of boiling water with 2 tablespoons coarse

salt. Cook it briefly until it is pliable but still hard. Drain the pasta and

stir into the tomato sauce.

Oil a deep ovenproof serving dish and place a thin layer of pasta at the bottom.

Cover with fried aubergines, and then place slices of mozzarella cheese on top.

Add another layer of pasta and repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of

mozzarella that covers the top. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and a little

black pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown

The invading Saracens first introduced aubergines to southern Italy. The

Italians believed them to be poisonous, and they were not generally eaten until

after the Crusades. When the Sicilian Carmelite monks returned from the Holy

Land, they started to serve this now-familiar vegetable to the poor who came to

eat at the monastery. When other local people saw that the beggars survived,

they began to eat aubergines too.

 

 

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Per serving: 2886 Calories (kcal); 284g Total Fat; (87% calories from fat); 80g

Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 301mg Cholesterol; 1823mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 11 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 50

1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

 

 

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0