Eggplant and Sausage Pasta

Here is a delicious recipe for preparing Eggplant and Sausage Pasta that combines the intense flavor of sausage with the sweetness of eggplant.

Ingredients

• 320g short pasta (such as penne, rigatoni or fusilli)
• 2 medium eggplants
• 200g sausage
• 400g peeled tomatoes or tomato passata
• 1 small onion
• 1 garlic clove
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil
• Grated Parmesan (optional)
• Grated salted ricotta (optional for garnish)

Preparation

1. Start by washing and cutting the eggplants into cubes. Lightly salt them and let them rest for about half an hour so they lose their bitterness.
2. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the sausage and crumble it. Sauté the finely chopped onion in a large pan with a little oil, then add the crumbled sausage and cook until golden.
3. Rinse the eggplants to remove excess salt and dry them. Add them to the pan with the sausage and let them brown until well golden.
4. Add the peeled tomatoes or tomato passata, a whole garlic clove, salt, pepper, and a few basil leaves torn by hand. Let cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
5. While the sauce cooks, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
6. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the eggplant and sausage sauce, tossing everything in the pan for a few minutes so the flavors combine well.
7. Serve hot, garnished with torn fresh basil and, if you like, grated Parmesan or salted ricotta.

Trivia

Eggplant and sausage pasta is a rustic and flavorful dish that combines typical ingredients of Mediterranean cuisine. It is a variant of the more well-known pasta alla Norma, from which it differs by the addition of sausage that gives a more decisive and rustic flavor to the dish.