Try a Meat-free Monday

Penne alla Siciliana

This is also known as Pasta alla Norma. You can easily double the quantity of sauce and keep half in the fridge for about a week. Serves 4.

Ingredients

3 aubergines (about 900g weight in total)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large onion, diced

1 red chilli (or 2 if you like it hot!), chopped small

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp sugar

250g mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated

300g penne pasta

20g basil leaves

Salt and black pepper

Slice the aubergines lengthways into slices about ¾-1cm thick, then slice again into strips, and then again so you end up with small cubes. Now you can either fry the cubes in olive oil in batches, or spread them out on a baking sheet with plenty of olive oil (you may need as much as 75ml) and roast for 30 minutes at 200˚C. Set the cooked aubergines aside to cool.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil a large frying pan, add the onions and garlic, and fry for 5-10 minutes, adding the chopped chilli after about 5 minutes. Then tip in the tinned tomatoes, oregano, sugar and some salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit. Pour the sauce into a large stoneware or terracotta oven dish, and add the aubergines.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water, for about 2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the aubergines and sauce, then stir in just over half of the cheese. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water if the sauce seems too thick. Top the mixture with the rest of the grated cheese.

Bake in the oven at 200˚C for 15-20 minutes until browned and bubbling. Scatter over some basil as a garnish.