Recipe courtesy of Antonia Bellanca

Recipe Info

Level: Intermediate
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total: 57 min
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 27 min

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving
Serving Size: 1 of 6 servings
Calories: 1000
Total Fat: 44 g
Saturated Fat: 22 g
Carbohydrates: 104 g
Dietary Fiber: 8 g
Sugar: 14 g
Protein: 49 g
Cholesterol: 114 mg
Sodium: 1269 mg

Ingredients

Olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
3 large eggplants, chopped (5 cups)
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
Leaves from 10 to 12 sprigs of fresh basil
Kosher salt
10 to 15 plum tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
1 1/2 pounds dry fettuccine
1/2 pound packaged mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1.1 pounds fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

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Directions

Ready to create a restaurant-worthy pasta dish bursting with summer flavors? Warm 1/2 cup of oil and the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and eggplant and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until irresistibly soft. Eggplant soaks up oil fastadd more as needed! Near the end, toss in the whole garlic cloves and half of the basil leaves for aromatic magic.
While that's simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the tomatoes for 4 to 5 minutes until skins split and they're tender. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon into a mesh colander over a bowlsave that precious cooking liquid!
Once cooled, core and peel the tomatoes. Squeeze the pulp through the sieve into the bowl, starting with the watery liquid. Pour it all into the eggplant pan, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar, then simmer 10 more minutes until beautifully thickened. Your sauce is transforming into pure gold!
Meanwhile, reboil the reserved liquid, add salt, and cook the fettuccine per package directions. Drain welldon't rinse away that starch!
For the grand finale: Reserve a third of the eggplant mixture. Toss hot pasta with the rest in the pan, mix in packaged mozzarella, then pile into a serving bowl. Crown with reserved eggplant, fresh mozzarella cubes, Parmesan, and remaining basil. Serve hot and watch everyone dive inthis eggplant pasta will steal the show!

A viewer or guest of the show, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. It has not been tested for home use.