Skip to main content

Orecchiette with chili white eggplants


The eggplants come from my aunt veggie garden, and they really look like eggs! The chili is from a pot on my mum's kitchen window. Even if these days I am not eating from my own garden I am taking advantage of theirs.


Put the chili and garlic in a pan with olive oil, fry for a few minutes and then add the eggplants, cubed. Stir often until the eggplants start to colour. Add a little water and salt and cover with a lid. Stew the eggplants, stirring often and adding water if necessary, until they are soft. At the end add half a cup of chopped parsley, a little olive oil and, if you like, some more chopped garlic and even chopped chili (but only if you like it super spicy!). Cook and drain the orecchiette pasta and then dress with the eggplants. Delicious!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©


Labels:

Comments

  1. Sharon RuddAugust 16, 2010 at 10:11 AM

    Allesandra, this orchiette looks like a superb but simple dish to prepare. I haven't cooked with white eggplant but am wondering if the flesh inside manages to maintain its light color rather than turning brown the way purple eggplant does. Or do you have some other secret? Thanks much for stopping by my blog. I will be following you as well. Delighted to have inspiration from my new international friends!

    eggy

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlessandraAugust 16, 2010 at 7:21 PM

    Ciao Eggy,

    White eggplants also become brown when cooking (or at least, cooked like in this recipe!), but a bit lighter in colour than the purple ones. Yesterday I went to the country to see my aunt and I got some more, white and purple, I'll let you know if I see a difference in cooking them :-)

    Than you for stopping by

    Alessandra

    ReplyDelete
  3. FaithAugust 17, 2010 at 10:51 AM

    I've never had white eggplants! They're beautiful and I bet this is a very tasty dish!

    ReplyDelete
  4. aipiAugust 17, 2010 at 11:09 AM

    Thanks for stopping by my site. Glad you liked the paneer dish. My husband loves eggplant... have never had white ones though (they do really look like eggs)... just saw them the other day at the local farmer's market... we also love pasta and this dish looks simple and great... will definitely give it a shot sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RachanaAugust 17, 2010 at 11:09 AM

    Simple yet so delicious! I am a big fan of eggplants and this looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AlessandraAugust 18, 2010 at 12:52 AM

    Thank you al for your comments, Aipi, guess what, I could even stuck paneer in this one too!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. shahanaAugust 18, 2010 at 1:14 PM

    This recipe is new tome.Sounhds really delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. yariAugust 19, 2010 at 7:42 AM

    White eggplants... Astonishing, never seen them before! Is it a particular, local variety?

    ReplyDelete
  9. AlessandraAugust 19, 2010 at 8:13 AM

    Not sure Yari, I have seen them in NZ, and here in Italy my aunt has been growing them for a few years now... they look pretty eh?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to make Rose Turkish Delights (Lokum), and Sweet New Zealand

Rose Turkish Delights (Lokum) Before I start I would like to say that I don't have a sugar thermometer, essential if you are really into confectionery, and that I didn't use much sugar for these Turkish delights. Many recipes use much more sugar, and it is not that I wanted to make a low sugar treat here (it is still pretty sweet), it is just that making it at home really makes me realize how much sugar there is already in my diet, and if I can have something with a little less... well, why not! This method is 'home friendly' i.e. these can be made at home with very little effort and equipment, and the recipe comes from my book  Sweet As...  where I also have the recipe for lavender and orange blossom Turkish Delights. Ingredients 1 l water 300 g sugar 2 tbsp lemon juice 100 g cornflour 1 tbsp frozen raspberries 1 tbsp rose water icing sugar (very little) and cornflour (lots) to dust. In a pot put hal...
9 comments
Read more

Mezze Maniche with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Since I had some left over mushroom sauce from yesterday's dish , today I made some pasta. I heard from other bloggers about the Garofalo pasta brand, in NZ I could only find it in one shop, and it was too expensive even to consider, so I thought that I should try it while I am in Italy. I choose mezze maniche for this dish. Mezze maniche with mushrooms I cooked the mezze maniche al dente. In the meantime I warmed up the pan with the left-over mushrooms and added 250 ml of cream. Then I added some freshly chopped Italian parsley and some freshly ground pepper. I drained the mezze maniche and passed them in the pan with the mushroom and cream sauce. They tasted great! Photos by Alessandra Zecchini©
9 comments
Read more

Paccheri with tomato, parsley and garlic.

Paccheri are hollow pasta tubes that look like rigatoni or tortiglioni, but with a difference: the paccheri tubes flatten once they are cooked. Usually the have very rich sauces, but I am one for 'less is more' these days, and so here I just warmed up a ready made Italian tomato passata ( a good one ). Once the passata was hot I added some salt, extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped Italian parsley with garlic. These days I am chopping a lot of parsley and garlic together, it is too early for basil, and parsley taste really good in Italy! Also, I like the idea of having a cooked sauce but with raw herbs and garlic in it: the taste changes completely. Simple but really effective!!! If you are not vegan you can add some ricotta to this. Photos by Alessandra Zecchini©
7 comments
Read more