Orecchiette with roasted aubergine, tomato, basil and ricotta salata

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 300g orecchiette
• 2 medium aubergines, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra if needed
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• Small handful basil leaves, torn if large
• 75g ricotta salata, finely grated or crumbled
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the aubergine roasting

Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Tip the aubergine chunks into a roasting tin, add the olive oil, season well with salt and black pepper, then toss everything together. Roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until soft in the middle and properly golden at the edges. Aubergine wants colour here. Pale and spongy is not doing much for anybody.

2. Start the tomato base

While the aubergine roasts, heat a small splash of olive oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Stir in the tomato purée and let it cook for a minute or two so it loses that raw edge and starts tasting like it means business.

3. Build the sauce

Add the chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper, then let the sauce simmer gently for 10–12 minutes until slightly thickened. You want something with a bit of body to it rather than a thin tomato sauce racing about the pan.

4. Get the pasta on

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the orecchiette until al dente. Before draining, save a mug of the pasta water. It nearly always earns its keep.

5. Bring it all together

Add the roasted aubergine to the tomato sauce and stir gently so it gets coated without breaking up too much. Add the drained orecchiette and most of the basil, then toss everything together over a low heat. If it needs loosening, add a splash of the pasta water so the sauce clings nicely to the pasta rather than sitting in clumps.

6. Finish properly

Have a taste and add a little more salt or black pepper if needed. Divide between warm bowls and finish with the ricotta salata and the remaining basil. Serve straight away while the aubergine is still soft and savoury and the cheese is just starting to soften into the pasta.

A couple of helpful notes
- If your aubergines seem especially dry before roasting, add another small drizzle of oil rather than hoping they will sort themselves out.
- Ricotta salata gives this the right salty, milky finish, but a firm vegetarian hard cheese will do a decent job if needed.
- A pinch of chilli flakes in the tomato sauce would not hurt at all if you want to give it a little more warmth.