A tomato based sauce, pan fried eggplant, fresh salty cheese and pasta. Yes, it’s another recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. Yes I have a fascination with them. Stop being so judgmental.

1.5lb eggplant, cut into 1/2″ cubes
Salt
3T extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets or 1t anchovy paste
1/2t red pepper flakes
28oz crushed tomatoes
1lb penne pasta
1/2c fresh chopped basil
1T extra virgin olive oil
1 cup crumbled fresh cheese (ricotta salata, feta, cotija, or Pecorino Romano)

Combine eggplant cubes with 1t salt in a bowl and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Microwave eggplant on high for 12 minutes. Eggplant should be dry and reduced in size. Put the eggplant back in the bowl and toss with 1T olive oil. Heat 1T olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Brown eggplant for 10 minutes, stirring ever 1.5 minutes. Set eggplant aside and remove skillet from heat. Add 1T olive oil, garlic, anchovy, and red pepper flakes and use the residual heat from the pan to cook mixture until edges of the garlic are golden. Return pan to medium heat if not enough heat left in the pan. Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 9 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add eggplant to the tomato sauce and heat 5 minutes. Stir in basil and olive oil.

While the tomatoes are simmering, cook the pasta until al dente in 4 quarts of water with 2T of salt. Reserve 1/2c of pasta water and drain pasta. Return pasta to the pot. Add sauce and stir. Add pasta water to adjust the sauciness (oh my) of the mixture. Test for seasonings and correct with salt and pepper and garnish with crumbled cheese.