As with everything I always, always end up making to much…which is bad in one way (I can’t get measurements and quantities right) and good in another (I have more…simples) – this recipe was the result of me staring at a ball of home-made pasta for about 30 minutes wondering what the hell to do with it next. The solution presented itself….I stuck it in the freezer……

Now, this is the thing about fresh egg pasta, it freezes unbelievably well and if you have cut and formed it then it goes from freezer to boiling water instantly!

This recipe is a ‘mutt’…it’s nothing more than what I had kicking about in my kitchen….and it friggin’ rocked my socks off….give it a go 🙂 

Papparadelle with Aubergine, Sun-blushed tomatoes and spinach – serves 2

200 grams fresh egg pasta (recipe here)

1 small aubergine

100 grams sun-blushed tomatoes (not jarred, but deli bought)

2 big handfuls of baby spinach roughly chopped or ripped

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

Good olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Fresh Parmesan (as much as you want 🙂

Pinch of chili flakes and dried oregano

Kick things off by dicing the aubergine into 1/2 cm dice, lug oil into a wide frying pan and sling the aubergine and garlic straight in over a medium high heat. Saute off for about 3-4 minutes until the veg softens and browns a little.

At this stage you can start cooking the pasta – plonk straight into boiling and well salted water (fresh egg pasta will take seconds to cook even from frozen so watch it like  a hawk)

To bring the dish together add the tomatoes, spinach, chili and oregano to the pan and wilt down the spinach – when the pasta is cooked lift it straight from the pot into the pan and take some of the salty and starchy cooking water with it thsi will loosen things up and help form a silky sauce.

Next add a good handful of parmesan cheese to the pan mix and toss well to combine everything.

Done deal – serve directly from the pan with a couple of forks and some Pugliese bread.

The one thing to take away from this recipe is this….you can make a pasta sauce from just about any combination of things, the pivot point in it it adding the starchy, salty water after the pasta is cooked to form the bases of a sauce.