Eggplant and tomato pasta

Doug Sherring

This eggplant and tomato pasta was created and shared by Emma Lyell and Tane Williams of Bestie cafe in Auckland. One of the many tricks up Emma’s sleeve is to bake the eggplant whole in the oven, while getting started on the sauce on the stovetop. Once the eggplant is done, it’s easy to just scoop out the flesh and add it to the pot. Making pasta is something they love doing when they have a day off together, and Tane's tells me his secret to perfect pasta is an extra egg yolk. After we’ve put the pasta dough through the machine and cooked it for just two minutes, it gets poured through a colander and once mixed through the sauce, Emma twirls it on to the plate with tongs like an absolute pro, and garnishes with lemon zest, fresh basil, and parmesan.

Read Delaney's feature on Bestie cafe

Ingredients

2 drizzles	Olive oil
2	Onions, finely chopped
4	Garlic cloves, minced
1	Chilli flakes
3	Sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 splash	Wine, anything you have, red or white
1 ½ kgs	Tomatoes
2	Eggplants (Main)
4 servings	Fresh pasta (Main)

Directions

1. Cut a small cross on the bottom of each tomato, and blanch them by carefully dropping them in boiling water, then transferring to cold water. Peel the skins off and set aside.
2. Prick holes in the eggplant and rub with a little olive oil. Roast whole in the oven at about 180C until shriveled – about half an hour.
3. Cook off the onion, garlic, and chilli in a little olive oil, in a large heavy bottomed pot on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the sundried tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Increase the heat and add a generous splash of wine. Add a little water and then the tomatoes, chopped.
5. Continue cooking on a medium-low heat.
6. Remove the eggplants from the oven and allow to cool slightly before carefully cutting them and scooping out the flesh. Season well with salt and pepper, then add to the tomato sauce mixture.
7. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.
8. Cook your fresh pasta for two minutes, then drain well and stir through the sauce. Garnish with lemon zest, fresh basil, and parmesan.