Another Ligurian specialty, trenette (thin linguine) with eggplant and pesto sauce. And again, quite healthy. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 pounds (600 g) trenette (again, whole wheat will be very good)
- 5 smallish eggplants
- 6 tablespoons pesto sauce (see link below)
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano for dusting
- Salt
Preparation:
How to make pesto sauce.
Peel and dice the eggplant, and set them to boil in a pot of salted water and cook until almost done, 7-8 minutes. Add the pasta (trenette cook in 3-5 minutes -- if you're using spaghetti instead, which take 10-12 minutes, add them to the water that much sooner), and when it is still slightly al dente transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the pesto, which you will have diluted with a tablespoon or two of pasta water, dust with the grated Parmigiano, and serve.
In terms of wine, I'd suggest a Ligurian white, for example Vermentino di Ponente.
Yield: 4 servings trenette with eggplant and pesto sauce .
Peel and dice the eggplant, and set them to boil in a pot of salted water and cook until almost done, 7-8 minutes. Add the pasta (trenette cook in 3-5 minutes -- if you're using spaghetti instead, which take 10-12 minutes, add them to the water that much sooner), and when it is still slightly al dente transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the pesto, which you will have diluted with a tablespoon or two of pasta water, dust with the grated Parmigiano, and serve.
In terms of wine, I'd suggest a Ligurian white, for example Vermentino di Ponente.
Yield: 4 servings trenette with eggplant and pesto sauce .
