From Sicily with love, this pasta dish is easy to make, perfect for a healthy lunch break and suitable for vegetarians.
- Start preparing the aubergine: wash it and cut it in half or quarters (as you prefer) lengthwise, then slice it thinly. Put it in a colander and season well with salt. Let it rest for about 2 hours in order to get rid of the bitterness.
- For the tomato sauce: take 100 g of the vine tomatoes with the stalks, wash them and put them in a baking tray, season with olive oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, put a whole garlic clove with the skin in the tray and bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. When the roasted tomatoes are ready make the sauce: put the olive oil in a sauce pan with 2 garlic cloves (remove the soul form them) and the basil stalks. Let it fry gently for few minutes and then remove the garlic and stalks, add the rest of the tomatoes season with a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar and let it simmer for 20 minutes, add the basil leaves in the end; remove the stalks from the roasted tomatoes and add the tomatoes to the sauce, squeeze the roasted garlic clove into the sauce as well, remove the sauce form the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes, then blend everything to a smooth consistency.
- Wash the aubergine slices and dry them completely, meanwhile heat the sunflower oil to 190 degrees in a frying pan. Mix the aubergine slices with the flour and fry them gently in the hot oil until crunch and golden, season with a pinch of salt. Set aside but keep them warm.
- Cook the pasta al dente in salted boiling water according to the pack instructions. Put the pasta in a big bowl, mix it with the tomato sauce and few basil leaves.
- To serve: plate the pasta in a dish, top it with fried aubergines, a basil leaf and ricotta salata grated at the moment.
