Browning the eggplant without oil is something I learnt from my friend Daniela in Italy (thelazyolive) last year. Doing this means delicious cooked eggplant slices without it soaking up lots of oil and becoming greasy.
Ingredients
| 2 | Eggplants, sliced 1cm thick (Main) |
| 1 head | Broccoli, medium sized, cut into florets off the stalk, stalk trimmed, thinly sliced. (Main) |
| 500 g | Short pasta, I used fusilli (Main) |
| 5 Tbsp | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 | Red chilli, thinly sliced |
| 3 cloves | Garlic, finely chopped (Main) |
| 1 | Lemon, use zest and juice only |
| 1 ½ cups | Frozen peas, thawed |
| ½ cup | Roasted unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped |
| 1 bowl | Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (Main) |
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Directions
- Heat a large frying pan over high heat and brown the eggplant slices on both sides in batches. Remove from the pan and reserve. Wipe out the pan.
- Drop the broccoli into a saucepan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and boil until cooked but still crisp. Drain well.
- Drop the pasta into a large saucepan of well salted water (the water should taste like sea water) and boil until al dente or tender to the bite.
- Meanwhile, heat the frying pan over moderate heat and add the oil, chilli, garlic, zest, eggplant and broccoli. Stir-fry until everything is hot then add the peas and almonds. Mix well and stir-fry a few minutes until hot. Taste and season.
- Drain the pasta well and place in a large, warm serving bowl. Add the eggplant mixture and the lemon juice and mix well. Serve with plenty of parmesan.
