malvasia bianca

I’m pretty sure this is from The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces, by Diane Reed, but that book was Jordan’s, so I can’t say for sure. The original recipe recommends spaghetti (or even vermicelli, which really doesn’t sound like a fit to me), but I prefer the fusilli that another recipe recommends: that way, the capers can nestle in the spirals.

The eggplant is the chief determiner of the quality of the dish. I’m too lazy to do the whole “purge eggplant by salting it” deal, but I put in a lot of olive oil (not quite deep-fry level, but close – actually, deep frying would probably work great!) when cooking the eggplant, and cook it for a while. (And then pour out some of the olive oil after cooking the eggplant.)

Quite a substantial sauce, but everything in it is good.

Pasta Siracusani, from The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces

1 lb fusilli
1 eggplant
olive oil
3 cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets
14 oz can tomatoes
12 oz jar roasted red or yellow peppers
2 Tbsp capers
12 pitted black olives
a bit of minced basil, or dried basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Cube the eggplant, and fry until soft in the olive oil. Mince garlic and anchovies, chop tomatoes, and add them to the sauce. Cook for about ten minutes. Slice peppers into strips add peppers, capers, olives, and basil, and cook for another ten or fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta; mix pasta, sauce, and cheese.