By David Rocco’s Dolce India
INGREDIENTS
– 1 lb. (500 g) rigatoni pasta
– 2 cups mustard oil for frying
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 large eggplant, cubed
– 15 infornate olives or any black olives, pitted and chopped
– 10 large sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
– 2 dried chili peppers, crushed (optional)
– Salt, QB
– 3 cups (750 mL) tomato purée
– 3/4 lb. (375 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
– 3/4 lb. (375) Smoked scamorza cheese, roughly chopped
– ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
Boil the water and cook your pasta.
Heat up a frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the mustard oil until it is about 1-2 inches deep to deep-fry your cubes of eggplant. You want to make sure the oil is very hot, your eggplant should sizzle when it makes contact with the oil, otherwise you’ll end up with soggy, oil filled cubes of eggplant. Once the eggplant is nice and golden remove it from the oil and set aside on a dish with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In a clean pan with 1-2 tablespoons of mustard oil, fry up your garlic until brown and add in the olives and sun dried tomatoes. Fry for 1-2 minutes and add in your tomato puree. Bring to a boil and then let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until your pasta is ready. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add all the sauce, eggplant, and then the mozzarella and scamorza cheeses. Mix thoroughly. Pour the whole thing into a large baking dish. Top with a good sprinkle of Parmigiano and you can add more mozzarella and scamorza cheese if you want. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 30 minutes or until beautifully golden and crisp.
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