Eggplant, capers, and mint are a felicitous yet ubiquitous flavor combination whose parentage is impossible to attribute. I can't consciously call this recipe mine, but I can call it accessible and joyful. I like to use Japanese eggplants because they're virtually seedless and can be cut in just-the-right-size wheels, but feel free to use other kinds and slice them into manageable-size bites.
EDITOR'S NOTE: We have added the video below of Chef Buitoni's making this dish in the kitchen of Appetito's Editor-in-Chief Andrew Cotto. The complete production was provided by ProdCo+.
Spicy Pasta with Eggplant, Capers, and Mint
4
servings5
minutes12
minutesIngredients
3 Tbsp 3 capers packed in salt
1 1 garlic clove
1 1 Japanese eggplant (see headnote)
4 tablespoons 4 extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons 2 tomato concentrate (or paste)
1/2 cup 1/2 loosely packed mint leaves
salt as needed
Red chili flakes
1 pound 1 short pasta (like ziti or cavatelli)
Directions
- Fill a pot with 3 quarts of water and cover it.
- Set it over high heat to come to a boil.
- Put the capers into a tea strainer and run under hot water to melt away all the visible salt.
- Rinse well and leave to soak in warm water while you are readying the rest of the ingredients.
- Peel the garlic clove and leave it whole.
- Slice the eggplant as thinly as possible into rounds.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the oil into a frying pan large enough to contain the eggplant slices in a single layer and place it over medium heat.
- Place a plate next to the stove and line it with a paper towel.
- When the fragrance of oil hits your nostrils decisively, add the eggplant and pan fry until the slices become pliant and glossy.
- Lift a slice from the oil with tongs and if it has some brown, caramelized spots, turn it over and panfry the other side.
- Transfer the eggplant slices to the paper-towel-lined plate.
- Drain the capers and toss them into the oil used to cook the eggplant.
- Add the garlic clove, tomato concentrate and 6 or 7 mint leaves of mint then douse with 2 cups of hot water.
- Season with chili to best suit your glee for heat.
- Stir well to dilute the concentrate, turn the heat on to medium, and let simmer to reduce by about one-third.
- Season the boiling water with 1 tablespoon salt, stir in the pasta, and cover the pot. Set a timer for 2 minutes shy of the suggested cooking time.
- When the water starts to boil again, remove the lid and adjust the heat so that the water is at a lively but not rolling boil.
- The sauce will be ready in the time it takes the pasta to cook. It should be loosely velvety in appearance, runny but not watery.
- Sample the sauce and adjust the salt to your liking.
- Return the eggplant to the pan.
- When the timer goes off, fish the ziti out of the water with a handheld strainer and add them to the sauce, with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.
- Raise the heat to the highest setting and toss and twirl the pasta for an additional minute or two to finish cooking.
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