↓
 

Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper

Pomodori e Vino Posted on by

9cindy1.JPG
This week, my recipe was Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper. When I looked through the recipe, the first thing I noticed is that you fry the eggplant. I rarely fry anything, so I can’t say I was too excited about this step.
The recipe referred me to another recipe in the book that explains the proper way to prepare and fry eggplant. There are two important steps worth noting: 1.To salt the sliced eggplant and let it drain, taking away any bitterness that the eggplant might have and 2. To have the oil very hot, so that the eggplant doesn’t absorb any more of the oil than needed. This method produced a very flavorful eggplant that I’m sure you wouldn’t get from sauteing. The flavor could be described as smokey.
There are not a lot of ingredients in the sauce-eggplant, olive oil, garlic, parsley, tomatoes, and chili pepper. But the flavor you get from these few ingredients is really a surprise. My husband thought there had to be anchovies or some other mysterious ingredient that added to the complexity of the sauce. I think it was the fried eggplant that added the special flavor.
Marcella suggested this pasta sauce be served on spahettini pasta, a thin dried pasta. That’s what I used, and it was perfect.
9cindy2.JPG

Comments

Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper — 7 Comments

  1. Cindy, This looks great.
    I’ve never been a big eggplant fan. But I’m sure it is because I’ve never prepared it properly. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, since I don’t think I have a single eggplant recipe in my entire 62 week list.
    Deborah-I think you’d really like this recipe. I like eggplant, but don’t cook it often. This recipe was very delicious. Cindy

  2. Hi Cindy,
    Two comments:
    1. I have a recipe on tap that calls for red chili pepper – was going to make it last week, but unable to get red chili peppers locally – won’t be around for about a month – so I’ll do it then. BUT I have also planted some red chili pepper plants in my garden. I should have LOTS in a couple of months.
    2. I started quite a discussion on Slow Travel a couple of years ago with a recipe for Melanzane alla Parmigiana. The discussion evolved/degenerated into The Great Melanzane War (ask Jerry). One take-away for me was that I no longer salt the eggplant slices, if I pick them from my garden.
    I’ll try this dish when I can go out to the garden & pick my own chili peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, parsley and garlic.
    Doug-I envy your big garden. I do plant a garden, but with our short summers and not too hot temperatures, there’s a lot I unfortunately cannot grow, and peppers are tomatoes are two of them. Cindy

  4. Cindy!!
    my mouth is watering. amazing. Good thing I weighed in yesterday because I think I gained a pound looking at your photo. Praise be! no one at work caught me licking the monitor, 😀
    Seriously, fabulous!!
    Rah!Rah!
    you’re all doing such a spectacular job!!
    Mindy-You are so funny. I can just picture you licking the monitor! Cindy

  5. LOL. I fondly remember The Great Eggplant War. *rolls eyes*
    This looks delicious, Cindy.
    Amy-I’ll have to hear the Great Eggplant War story sometime. Cindy

  6. My mother, who died at 101 & 4 months, lived the better part of her life through to the end in Cesenatico, my native town. I tried to drive down from Venice to see her as often as I could, and she would come to the terrace that overlooked the street through which we would drive up at least an hour in advance of our coming. We’d always arrive at lunch time and invariably she would have made breaded veal cutlets topped with gratineed tomatoes and … fried eggplant!
    Marcella-It is such a pleasure working my way through your cookbook, and it is even more special when you tell stories such as this. I know every time I eat fried eggplant, I will now think about your mother out on the terrace watching for you to drive up the street. Thank you so much for sharing memories like this with us. Cindy

  7. I too am not much of an eggplant fan, but this recipe sounds really good. We are planting three types of eggplant, so I will have lots of opportunity later this summer!
    Nancy-definately give this one a try. I think you’ll really like it. Cindy

↑