Pasta with Melted Eggplant, Italian Sausage, and Lemon
Melting eggplant by cooking it down to a creamy consistency transforms it into the basis of a wonderful pasta sauce. Here it is paired with savory Italian sausage and acidic lemon juice to make a hearty pasta dish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pasta prepared according to package direction
- 1-1 ¼ lb eggplant
- ½ lb hot/spicy Italian sausage casing removed
- 1 medium onion (6-8 oz) diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 oz aged grating cheese freshly grated
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of one lemon up to two ounces total
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- freshly chopped herbs for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the eggplant for melting. Chop the eggplant into 1 inch pieces. Whisk up one ounce of water with one ounce of olive oil and one teaspoon of salt, until emulsified. Quickly pour this mixture over the eggplant and toss to evenly coat the eggplant. Let the eggplant sit with this oil and brine until needed later in this recipe.
- Sauté the sausage on medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks.
- After the fat has been rendered from the sausage and it is fully cooked, add the diced onion and a teaspoon of salt. Continue to sauté until the onion is soft and translucent. Then stir in the minced garlic and sauté one more minute.
- Stir the eggplant into the sausage and onion mixture, add a cup of stock, stir and bring to a simmer. Use a wooden spatula to stir often, and scrape up any brown fond as it develops on the bottom and sides of the pot. As the eggplant cooks, use the back of the spatula to smoosh the eggplant as it softens, or even use a potato masher for efficiency. Add splashes of stock or water as needed, if things dry up. Expect it to take about 20 minutes to transform the chunks of eggplant into a melted, gooey, decadent pasta sauce.
- While the eggplant mixture is cooking, prepare a pound of dry pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is ready, reserve one cup of the salted starchy pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Stir the lemon zest and lemon juice into the eggplant and sausage mixture. Drain the pasta and immediately toss with eggplant, sausage and lemon mixture. If it seems like the sauce needs it, add a splash or two of the reserved pasta water.
- Taste and finish with salt and pepper as desired.
- Plate the pasta and top with a freshly grated aged cheese such as Parmesan, Pecorino or Calavander. Optionally also garnish with freshly chopped herbs such as parsley, basil or oregano.
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