The Recipe
1 lb eggplant
1 lb roma tomatoes, halved
1 medium onion, cut into half-inch slices
8 cloves garlic, whole, peeled
drizzle of olive oil
pinch of chile flakes
about 2 T. chopped basil
2 t. balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
On a gas burner or under the broiler, char the eggplant on all sides. This takes just a few minutes. Watch and turn it.
Heat the oven to 400. Arrange the tomato, onion, and garlic in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Put the whole eggplant with the charred skin directly on the oven rack next to the tomato dish. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the eggplant is squishy and the tomatoes are crinkly.
Scrape the soft flesh from the eggplant into a food processor, disposing of the charred skin. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and onion, scraping all the juices into the bowl of the machine. Add the vinegar, a pinch of red chile flakes, and salt. If I were you I would add another swirl of olive oil here too. Puree. And taste for salt.
Serve over pasta. Garnish generously with chopped basil.
(Don't you hate it when a magazine obviously uses some old stock photo and thinks that you won't notice that it is clearly not of the corresponding recipe? That's totally what's going on here. This sauce will be creamier and smoother from the luscious, smoky roasted eggplant flesh. And of course, the top should also be littered with basil. Mmm summer.)
