120 GOURMET TRAVELLER
2 large eggplants
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
500 gm tomato passata
½ cup (loosely packed) basil
Vegetable oil, for
shallow-frying
1 ball (about 200 gm) fresh
mozzarella, sliced
80 gm aged pecorino (or
parmesan, or caciocavallo),
grated1 Peel the eggplants if you
like, then cut lengthways into
1cm-thick slices. Layer in a
colander and sprinkle each
layer generously with salt, then
place a plate on top followed
by a weight (such as a can of
beans). Leave for a minimum of
30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
During this time, the eggplant
will weep a brownish liquid.
Rinse under cold water and
pat dry with clean tea towels.
2 While the eggplants are
draining, prepare the tomato
sauce by heating the olive oil
in a deep pan over a low heat.
Add the onion and cook gently
until soft and translucent but
not coloured (about 10 minutes).
Add the passata with a few basil
leaves, a splash of water and a
pinch of salt (try not to salt this
sauce too much – the cheese
will add some saltiness too).Increase the heat to medium
and simmer for 15 minutes, or
until the sauce is as thick as
you like it.
3 Pour the vegetable oil into a
wide saucepan or large frying
pan, onethat will fit three or four
eggplant slices at a time. Set
over a medium-high heat; the oil
is hot enough when a cube of
eggplant dropped into the oil
sizzles immediately. Fry three
or four slices at a time, a few
minutes on each side, or until
they are evenly golden brown.
Drain well on paper towels and
leave to cool. Continue frying
until all the slices are cooked.
4 Preheat oven to 180°C.
Spoon some tomato sauce in a
thin layer over the bottom of a
22cm x 22cm ceramic or glass
casserole dish. Top with a single
layer of eggplant, then spoon
over half the remaining tomato
sauce, a few torn basil leaves
and one-third of the cheese –
both mozzarella and pecorino.
Continue layering eggplant,
tomato sauce and basil,
ending with layer of cheese,
in particular the pecorino. Bake
for 25-30 minutes, or until you
can see the edges bubbling,
and a golden-brown crust has
formed. Let the parmigiana
sit for about 15-20 minutes
before cutting.➤PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE
Eggplant parmigiana
SERVES 4“I always think of parmigiana as a piatto unico: a dish that isn’t a
primo or a secondo, but is hearty enough to cover the entire meal,”
says Davies. “In Puglia, parmigiana is considered an antipasto, and,
indeed, in small enough portions, you could get away with eating
this as a starter. But when we make parmigiana, this is all we eat.”1 kg mussels, scrubbed
and beards removed
100 gm ditalini pasta (or other
very small soup pasta)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,
plus extra for drizzling
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ onion, thinly sliced
125 ml dry white wine
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
200 gm drained canned
borlotti beans
1 long red chilli (optional),
finely chopped
½ cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf
parsley, finely chopped1 Discard any mussels that
are cracked or open and won’t
close when gently tapped. To
open the mussels, heat them in
a wide, shallow frying pan over
medium-high heat. Cover, and
shake the pan occasionally to
help the mussels move around
(the ones on the bottom will
find it harder to open fully than
the ones on top). After about
1-2 minutes, check them and,
with a pair of tongs, pull out the
mussels that have opened and
transfer these to a large bowl.
Continue until all the mussels
have opened (any that are still
tightly shut can be discarded).2 Strain the mussel liquid left
in the pan – either using a very
fine-mesh sieve or a regular
sieve lined with a paper towel
and set over a bowl – and pull
out the meat from the shells
(reserving some whole mussels
to garnish). Discard the shells.
3 Meanwhile, bring a large pot
of salted water to the boil and
cook the pasta according to
the packet instructions, minus
1 minute of cooking time.
4 Heat the oil in a wide frying
pan over low heat and fry the
garlic and onion until the garlic
is fragrant but not coloured
(about 5 minutes). Pour in wine,
increase the heat to medium
and bring to the boil. Add the
tomato and simmer for a further
5 minutes (if the tomato is not
very ripe, cook for 10 minutes,
and add a splash of water if the
liquid is reducing too much).
5 Add the beans, the mussel
meat and their liquid and season
to taste (the mussel liquid can
be quite salty). Add the chilli
and some pepper. Bring to a
simmer and cook for 2 minutes,
then scatter with parsley.
6 Drain pasta (reserving some
of the pasta water) and serve
with the soupy sauce (add a
splash of the pasta water if
necessary) topped with the
reserved whole mussels.DITALINI CON COZZE E FAGIOLI
Ditalini pasta with mussels and beans
SERVES 4“This is a hearty and always satisfying combination: plump
mussels from Taranto’s port and earthy, creamy legumes in a
flavourful, fragrant broth,”says Davies. “The brothysauce makes
this something halfway between a pasta and a soup. Instead of
borlotti beans, you can also use cannellini beans.”Pictured p116.