Pasta melanzane e salsiccia

Here is a tasty recipe to prepare Pasta with eggplant and sausage that combines the intense flavor of sausage with the sweetness of eggplants.

Ingredients

• 320g of short pasta (such as penne, rigatoni, or fusilli)
• 2 medium eggplants
• 200g of sausage
• 400g of peeled tomatoes or tomato puree
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil
• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Grated salted ricotta (optional for garnishing)

Preparation

1. Start by washing and cutting the eggplants into cubes. Salt them lightly and let them rest for about half an hour, so they lose their bitterness.
2. In the meantime, remove the skin from the sausage and crumble it. Sauté the finely chopped onion in a large pan with some oil, then add the crumbled sausage and cook until it is golden brown.
3. Rinse the eggplants to remove the excess salt and dry them. Add them to the pan with the sausage and let them brown until they are well caramelized.
4. Add the peeled tomatoes or tomato puree, a whole clove of garlic, salt, pepper, and a few hand-torn basil leaves. Cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
5. While the sauce is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
6. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the eggplant and sausage sauce, tossing everything in the pan for a few minutes so that the flavors blend well together.
7. Serve hot, garnished with hand-torn fresh basil and, if you like, grated Parmesan or salted ricotta.

Trivia

Pasta with eggplant and sausage is a rustic and flavorful dish that combines typical ingredients of Mediterranean cuisine. It is a variation of the more famous Pasta alla Norma, from which it differs by the addition of sausage that gives a more decisive and rustic flavor to the dish.