Ziti with Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Cheese

Name: Ziti with Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Cheese
Yield: makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 large firm eggplants (each about 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 pounds); 2 tablespoons coarse salt, plus more for cooking the pasta and seasoning the sauce; 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced; One 35-ounce can peeled Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), lightly crushed, with their liquid; 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper; Salt; 1 pound ziti; 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese; 1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed, dried, and shredded; 1/2 pound (1 cup) fresh ricotta cheese or packaged whole-milk ricotta cheese; 8 ounces imported Fontina cheese, sliced thin (if baking the pasta)

December 9, 2011

To keep them both intact, add the little “pockets” of ricotta and the eggplant pieces just before serving the pasta or turning it into the baking dish. It is one of the nuances in cooking that make a difference. When you take a bite of the finished pasta, you’ll get little bursts of different tastes, which you wouldn’t enjoy if the eggplant pieces were broken apart and the ricotta was mixed in with the pasta. If you choose to bake the pasta, make sure the pasta is well moistened when it goes into the baking dish—the heat of the oven will dry it out a little. You can toss little pieces of mozzarella or Fontina cheese in with the pasta before adding the ricotta and eggplant if you like. Just make sure the consistency of the pasta stays fluid and creamy.

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