Preparazione
Salt the eggplant in a colander 30 minutes, then rinse briefly and dry completely.
35 minMake the sauce: warm the olive oil with the garlic, add tomatoes crushed by hand, salt, and simmer 20 minutes; finish with torn basil and remove the garlic.
22 minFry the eggplant in 170 C oil in batches until deep bronze on both faces; drain on a rack and salt faintly.
15 minBoil the pasta in well-salted water to one minute shy of al dente.
9 minToss the pasta in the sauce with a splash of its water for a glossy coat, then fold in half the eggplant gently, off the heat.
3 minPlate, shingle the remaining eggplant on top, and snow over the ricotta salata with a basil leaf on each plate. Sing if moved.
Consigli dello Chef
- Ricotta salata or it is not Norma: Fresh ricotta melts into mildness; parmesan changes the key. The pressed salted version is the dish’s entire top note and worth the search.
- Fry like a catanese: The eggplant must go into properly hot oil and come out bronzed, not blond. Pale eggplant drinks oil; dark eggplant owns it.
- Summer shortcut with honor: cherry tomatoes blistered in the garlic oil instead of the simmered sauce, everything else unchanged.
