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Pasta Alla Trapanese

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Italian cuisine and pasta have become synonymous everywhere. But somehow I have seen people here (in India) obsessed with only two kinds of pasta – in red sauce or in white sauce. Well you can make pastas even without the same old sauce. How about pasta with pesto? A classic recipe from Trapani – it’s a small province of Sicily.

Italians love their pomodoro & basilico and so do I. [tomato & basil respectively]. This is a David Rocco inspired recipe btw.  


All that you need:
  1. Tomato – 3 chopped
  2. Garlic – 4-6 cloves
  3. Eggplant – 1 sliced thin
  4. Potato – 1 sliced thin
  5. Spaghetti - 250g (you can use a pasta of your choice)
  6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 cup (for pesto as well as frying the potato & eggplant)
  7. Salt – to taste
  8. Oregano – 1 teaspoon
  9. Thyme – 1 teaspoon
  10. Basil – a hand full
  11. Pecorino cheese – as much you like!


Let’s get started:

Making this Pesto alla Trapanese is very simple.

Put the tomatoes, garlic & basil leaves in a grinder and coarsely grind them. Add salt and half a cup of extra virgin olive oil to make a smooth pesto. [Traditionally these are supposed to be done in a large stone mortar & pestle – but I don’t have it so I am sticking to my blender]

In a frying pan heat some olive oil and pan fry the eggplant & potato slices. [Before frying I dust them with little salt usually, that helps is reducing the water and lessens the frying time]. Take out of flame and drain excess oil on a kitchen paper.

Cook the spaghetti in hot boiling salted water for 15 mins or till it’s just becoming soft. Don’t overcook it – it will just start falling apart.

Now here’s my twist – Put the tomato pesto in the frying pan, add the cooked spaghetti & fried potato & eggplant and toss them together. Add some thyme and 1 ladle of the pasta water. It really helps to get the pasta together.

Add a generous amount of grated pecorino cheese.

And you are done – add a sprinkling of oregano and enjoy!





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