When I’m away from home (although home may vary from time to time in terms of places, it’ll always be a place with a stove and a sharpened knife…) I love to try as much new, foreign, unknown food as I can. But then, when the last few days or hours of the journey are about to pass, there will always be the moment when I think about what I’ll have as first meal when I come back home. Surprisingly, even though my mind and stomach would come up with different suggestions (South Tyrolean knödel with gulasch, a proper italian pizza, my moms simmered beef with mashed potatoes and salsa verde… ), I’ll always end up having the same meal when I turn the stove on again back home: a simple pasta.
Well there are some things you should know about pasta. Pasta is not just pasta. It’s like the ultimate dish. It’s comforting, it’s nutritious, it’s quick to cook it and there are probably as many pasta sauce recipes as there are grains on an italian wheat field. Moreover, even if your fridge offers nothing than cold air, you can cook a good pasta. Simple aglio, olio e peperoncino, with some dried herbs or even just with a drizzle of oil and some parmesan.
Fortunately, when I came home from my 9 week trip through Canada and Southeast Asia yesterday, thanks to my lovely girlfriend my fridge had more to offer than cold air. There was some eggplant, so pasta with eggplant sauce it was!
Recipe (serves 2)
First of all, pour yourself a generous glass of wine. If you go for an austrian Grüner Veltliner like me, you’re doing well.
While you bring some water for the pasta to the boil, finely chop half an onion, a garlic clove and some parsley stems and fry all in some olive oil over low heat. This will be the base for your pasta sauce and I think it is the most important part in cooking a proper pasta sauce. Take your time, keep the heat low and gently fry the mix for about 5 minutes. If you have an anchovy, put one in the pan and stir until it dissolves.
In themeantime, cut a small eggplant into small cubes. Add the eggplant to your pan, stir and fry for a few minutes, then add a can of tomatoes to the pan (your choice if it is passata, cubes or whole pelati). Add salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and some chili, then let everything cook until you have a rich, not too dense but also not too watery sauce. Adjust the consistency of the sauce by spooning in some of the pastas cooking water.
After you’ve cooked your favorite type of pasta al dente (I used penne rigate), drain it and mix it with the pasta sauce. Also mix in some fresh finely chopped parsley.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some grated parmesan cheese.
Then lean back, enjoy your pasta an feel like being home again!
TheBlueChef 