Pasta with Eggplant and Ricotta, Sicilian-Style

(adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

I've raved about Marcella before, but man. She just never fails. I could randomly point to a recipe in her book, and it would be amazing. If I could have only one cookbook for the rest of my life, it'd be this one.

I obviously have a pasta bias, and this recipe was great, because it was a little different from the usual pastas I make. More steps than the usual pasta, too - but worth it.

Usually I follow Marcella's recipes to the letter, but I accidentally bought too little eggplant (one instead of two - although one ended up fine), and didn't have any romano cheese (substitute parmesan). I did, however, actually peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds, steps I usually would have skipped. Worth it!

1-2 Italian eggplants (preparation required)
Salt
Vegetable oil
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced very thin
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Italian plum tomatoes, skinned with a peeler, split lengthwise to pick out the seeds, and cut into narrow strips
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp grated romano cheese (alt: parmesan)
3 tbsp skim ricotta (mmm, I am newly a big fan of ricotta)
8-10 fresh basil leaves
3/4 lb pasta
Grated parmesan for serving

Start by prepping the eggplant. Cut off the spiky cap. Peel the eggplant and cut into 1.5-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a colander and set over a paper towel, then sprinkle cubes liberally with salt. Let the eggplant sit for at least a 1/2 hour and up to 1 hour. This draws out the bitterness of the eggplant.

Rinse the eggplant cubes in cold water, then dry them in a paper towel in batches - you can put them in the paper towel and squeeze them gently, almost like you're wringing them out. Set aside once you've rinsed all of them.

Put enough vegetable oil in a large frying pan to come up about 1/2 an inch on the sides of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is very hot, slip in the eggplant pieces and fry them until the pieces feel tender when prodded with a fork. Transfer with a slotted spatula to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Pour the oil out of the frying pan and wipe clean with paper towels. Add the olive oil and sliced onion, and turn the heat to medium-high. Saute the onion until it turns light gold in color and begins to caramelize, then add the chopped garlic and cook for just a few seconds, stirring.

Add the tomato, turn the heat to high, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring, until the oil floats free from the tomato (this will make sense when you see it).

Add the eggplant and a few grindings of pepper, stir, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for just a minute or so more, stirring a couple times. Taste and add salt if needed.

Toss the cooked and drained pasta with the sauce, add the romano/parmesan, the ricotta, and the basil leaves. Toss again to coat the pasta, and serve with grated parmesan.

Original Stuffed Shells: With "Sauce"

Yes, we have a stuffed shell repeat. But I think it's fair, because this is really a completely different dish. I made it for the in-laws because it's great for feeding a large group, and because last week at work I asked my co-workers what they were making for Thanksgiving, and they responded, simply: "sauce". Inspired, I had to make sauce, too.

This one takes some time to prepare - from absolute start-to-finish, it took about three hours. I was ever-so-intelligent and neglected to write down the exact proportions, but I think I got it close.

And yes, it is delicious (see Exhibit A)! Another one to be excited about, at least according to young nephew Finn (Exhibit B).

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

There are three main parts: making the sauce, making the filling, and then baking the dish. Two casserole/baking dishes holding a total of 23 shells fed 6 adults and two babies perfectly.

So - first, the sauce.

SAUCE
6-10 baby carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, sliced lengthwise, then thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 28-oz cans Hunt's tomato sauce
1 28-oz can Hunt's whole tomatoes
1-1.5 lbs cubed beef chuck
White wine
Dried parsley
Salt
Ground black pepper
Olive oil

You'll need a very big pot. Pour a couple/a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pot and turn heat to medium-high. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the pot and season with a little salt and ground pepper. Stir around until it starts to get aromatic and soften slightly.

Add the beef to brown it on all sides. Pour in a little white wine and let the alcohol cook off while you brown the meat.

When the meat is browned, add all of your tomatoes/tomato sauce. Crush the whole tomatoes against the sides of the pot with a wooden spoon to break up. Season again as needed with salt and pepper, and sprinkle in a little dried parsley. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for about 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is doing its thing, you can make the filling (measures are approximate):

FILLING
1 lb fat-free ricotta cheese (approx)
3/4 of a large brick of mozzarella, grated
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Salt to taste
A little ground pepper
Light sprinkle or two of nutmeg (a little goes a long way)
Sprinkle of dried parsley

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir together, set aside in the fridge.

OTHER
3/4 lb jumbo shells
Grated mozzarella for finishing

Preheat the oven to 400. When the sauce is almost done cooking, boil the water to make your shells. When they're ready, rinse them in cool water and drain. Remove the meat from the sauce and set aside in a separate bowl. Take your two baking dishes and ladle in the sauce to cover the bottoms of the pans, then add more (the sauce shouldn't cover the shells when you put them in, but should come up about 3/4 of the way up on the shells). Take each shell and fill it with a spoonful of the ricotta filling, then place it in the sauce in the pan. When the pans are full, place them in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve with the sauce meat on the side. Grate a little mozzarella cheese over the shells to finish. Green beans drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and pepper make a nice side. Done!

Ricotta Cheese Dumplings

(adapted from Mark Bittman)

When the latest Minimalist column boasted homemade "ricotta gnocchi" without any pre-cooking or dough-rolling, I thought back to my own failed attempt at potato gnocchi, and was hooked. He was right - these are much, much easier than their potato cousin.

Now, I don't know that they satisfy the seemingly-constant true gnocchi craving that plagues me - the best way to describe them is more like ravioli without the pasta covering (hence the modified name) - but they were different, rich, and tasty. And really pretty simple.

I was just cooking for myself, so the recipe below made way too much for just me, and they don't keep well. The below should make about four servings; adjust accordingly. Bittman made them with a sage brown butter sauce, which I bet is fantastic; I opted for a simple tomato sauce (two diced Roma tomatoes, 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 tbsp of butter, and basil flakes, salt, and pepper to taste, sauteed until the sauce breaks down). What will you try them with?

You'll need:
Salt to taste
One 15-ounce container ricotta cheese (nonfat is fine, I promise)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups freshly grated parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 to 1 cup flour

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Combine the ricotta, eggs and parmesan in a large bowl, along with some salt and pepper. Add about 1/2 cup flour and stir; add more flour until the mixture forms a very sticky dough. Scoop up a spoonful of dough and boil it to make sure it will hold its shape; if it does not, stir in a bit more flour. (They will come apart a little; I think that's OK.)

Drop the ricotta mixture by the rounded tablespoon into the boiling water, working in batches so as not to overload the pot.

When the dumplings rise to the surface, give them a couple minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. When you have enough, top with the sauce of your choosing and serve!