Recipe: Rigatoni alle melenzane, Eggplant Rigatoni

I really wanted to make eggplant parmesan the other day. Eggplant, mozzarella, sauce and parmesan cheese all baked together to the perfect consistency. You really can't go wrong.
I had the fresh eggplant from the market, pamesan cheese and a tomato base but I was missing mozzarella, egg and bread crumbs to make the perfect "parmigiana".  I wanted to go to the store right after work, but sadly by the time I got back to my area, it was already after 8 and sadly the supermarkets in my area (and in a lot of residential areas in Italy) close at 8pm on the dot. So with no supermarkets open I decided to improvise. I decided to make a dish similar to the sicilian "rigatoni alle melanzane" or eggplant rigatoni. I tried it once, a long time ago in Sicily and I really enjoyed it so I decided to finally try my hand... without looking up a recipe. I decided to work from memory and intuition and everything worked out really well actually.

Now, doesn't that look good?

Ingredients:
1 long thin eggplant
1/2 lb pasta (or enough for whoever you're serving... there were 2 of us)
1 jar of tomato puree (I believe the jar is about 500 grams)
1/2 onion
salt and pepper
1 dried red pepper
oregano and rosemary to taste

Thinly slice your onions and put to the side. Thinly slice your eggplant into rounds. Sprinkle each with a little salt and let sit for a few minutes. The salt should bring some of the water out of the eggplant making it easier to cook.
Put some oil into a pan and heat over a low heat. Sweat the onions and then add your eggplant. The eggplant will absorb a lot of oil so you may have to add some more. Let the eggplant cook slowly until just tender. Add your tomato puree and mix well. Put about a half a cup of water into the jar and swish to get remaining sauce of the sides of the jar. Pour into the sauce pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add in about a half a teaspoon of both oregano and rosemaryand 1 dried red pepper sliced into very thin slivers. If you like a lot of heat don't remove the seeds.  Let simmer for about a half an hour, until the sauce has reduced down a bit and the eggplant is cooked through.  I would recommend covering your pan to avoid some of the mess from splatter.
When you've put your sauce to the side to reduce, boil water and prepare your pasta according to the packaging.
When everything is ready you can serve the pasta with a heaping portion of sauce and some parmesan cheese. You can also serve it all mixed together depending on your preference.  It tasted delicous.

Makeshifting my lunch

Everyday I try to bring lunch with me, that way I save some money (it definitely costs more to get pizza or a premade sandwich) and eat a little healthier.
On some days I make myself salad and on others I try fun variations of sandwiches.

Last week I brought a colorful and tasty salad with me. It had cherry tomatoes, some pesto chicken, lettuce, raddichio and roasted red peppers in it. The flavors were a good blend with a lot of different textures. I also made a little balsamic, olive oil and oregano mixture to drizzle over it. I went very very light though since the peppers and chicken already had a lot of flavor.

This week was a week of sandwiches for some reason. I made a couple of different varieties though so it was a lot of fun.

Pancetta, turkey, cheese, and cherry jam

I came to work on Monday with no lunch so I took a quick spin to the grocery store and found a
long baguette for €0.59 so I knew sandwiches for the week were going to happen. I found pancetta which is similar to bacon, except sliced super finely so it can be eaten raw. I also found turkey and a sliced cheese (similar to American cheese except white and more creamy). I decided to put it all together with a bit of cherry jam. It added moisture and a great flavor contrast to the salty pancetta.

Delicious lunch #2

Tuesday's lunch was vaguely similar with another pancetta and turkey sandwich. Except I used
fresh tomatoes for moisture instead of cherry jam and served it with pasta in my homemade tomato sauce. I had leftover sauce that I wanted to use before it went to waste. It had started out with eggplants but I ate them all, so this was just a spicy sauce to go with my pasta and grated cheese. It was absolutely delicious.
I had another similar sandwich yesterday but I didn't take a picture of it because it looked very much the same, but I ate it with a helping of chick peas which were nice and light.

Mozzarella, prosiutto and honey

Today I went back to the store and had to refresh my supply of bread and cold cuts. I got ciabatta which is a wider bread that's not as long. I also got prosciutto crudo and mozzarella.  Then I added a little drizzle of honey for a nice touch of sweetness.
I know, I'm a little strange, but I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet. It doesn't work for everyone, so I recommend experimenting a bit with flavors until you find the right combinations for you.

So far this week, I've had some really good sandwiches and we'll just have to see what I cook up for tomorrow!