We teamed up with Food52 to take the guesswork out of mastering one of our favorite under-appreciated fruits: the eggplant. (Yes, it’s a fruit!) With a few simple ingredients, the humble eggplant is transformed into a silky, garlicky sauce that pairs perfectly with al dente pasta. It’s an easy weeknight meal that can be ready in minutes and helps you use that oft-neglected aubergine.

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Pasta with Silkiest Eggplant Sauce from Francis Lam for Food52

Author: Misfits Market
Yield: 4 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

Salt
1 pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
Leaves from 2 sprigs thyme or oregano, chopped
1 cup stock or water
1 pound long pasta noodles like spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini
2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, minced
6 basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Lightly salt the slices of eggplant, stack them back together, and let it all hang out for 20 minutes. This will season it and water will drop out, allegedly removing the bitterness, if it’s there.
Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a wide, heavy saucepan, add the garlic cloves, and set over low heat. You’re just trying to get them friendly with one another, so don’t worry if nothing happens for a while.
Dry off the eggplant and cut it into chunks. When you start hearing the garlic sizzle a little and can smell it, drop in your eggplant and stir to coat it all with oil. Turn up the heat a little bit to medium-high, add the thyme, and stir. When the eggplant starts to turn translucent and soften, add the liquid and let it come to a boil, then turn it back down to medium-low. Let it bubble for a bit and cover it, leaving a crack for steam to escape. Stir once in a while, so the bottom doesn’t stick.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it, and cook the pasta to al dente.
Meanwhile, check on the eggplant. The liquid should be mostly absorbed or reduced after about 20 minutes. Once it looks mashable, mash it up with a spoon, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. It should be silky smooth and garlicky and eggplant and humming with oil.
Drain the pasta and toss with the eggplant puree. Stir in the tomatoes and basil and gild the lily with some more oil to serve.

Want a step-by-step walkthrough of this savory-meets-sweet dinner? Join Food52 Resident Kristen Miglore on Sunday, September 26 at 5 p.m. EST for a virtual cooking class. A $130 ticket gives you access to this live virtual event (and recorded video), plus a $50 Misfits Market gift card, exclusive Food52 products, and includes a donation to City Harvest. Click here to learn more and snag your tickets.

To learn more about this and our other co-hosted Food52 events, check out the Food52 experiences page here.