There was a brief period in our lives before Desmond and Felix, before we were married, when I had my first grown-up job, and there was no mortgage, when Paul and I went out to eat whenever we felt like it. It was pretty great, and obviously, fleeting. We were even regulars. There was this little Italian restaurant in that mini mall across from the Beverly Center where we ate every week or so. The waitress knew us and we always ordered the same thing - I can still taste it - it was this perfectly luscious, summery pasta with smoky eggplant. It was so good. And so worth making our own.
Pasta with Smoky Eggplant and Tomatoes
Serves 4 - 6
1 lb fusilli
about 1/4 cup olive oil (divided)
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 1/2 lbs tomatoes (I used 2 big fat heirloom tomatoes)
1 medium eggplant
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
about 1 T red wine vinegar (optional, depending on your tomatoes)
a few leaves of basil
salt
smoked sea salt (optional)
Boil pasta. In a large skillet gently toast the garlic in 2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, add the chopped tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Let simmer until the tomatoes have grown saucy and begun to reduce. In the meantime, slice the eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill over medium heat until squishy and nicely browned.
Once the tomatoes have reduced a bit (They’ll still be more watery than you would like in the finished pasta dish.) stir in the nutritional yeast and the eggplant.
When the pasta is just al dente, drain it and toss it into the sauce to finish cooking. Just before serving, stir in another swirl (about 2 T) of olive oil. Taste for salt. If you happen to have it, you could add a pinch of smoked sea salt at this point, but it's just a little bonus. And if your tomatoes are very sweet and mild you might want to add a little swig of vinegar.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve.
