Conchiglie with aubergine and olives
Sometimes, you just need something easy and delicious. No surprises here, this is a weeknight meal that’s so damn delicious you might be tempted to serve it to guests too.
This is obviously a very versatile recipe, we adapted it (very loosely) from a combination of 2 recipes in Yotam Ottolenghi’s new book, SIMPLE (An excellent book, which we highly recommend) – and can be adapted in any number of ways.
This can also be made ahead, and just thrown together at the last minute – the sauce keeps perfectly well for a day or 2 in the fridge, ready to be reheated.
We chose conchiglie because of the way it cups the thick sauce so nicely, but lets be honest – all pasta tastes the same – feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Conchiglie with aubergine and olives
Quick, easy and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 medium aubergines
- olive oil
- sugar, salt and pepper
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 red chilli Optional
- 1 small handful black olives, pitted and chopped roughly
- 1 tbsp dried origanum
- 20g basil leaves, washed and chopped roughly
- 150g Chopped bacon Can use any smoked meat, if using chicken then double the amount.
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes can use only one if you want the sauce stiffer.
- Conchiglie pasta – cooked according to the packet instructions
- grated pecorino to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to grill (or it’s hottest setting, if your oven doesn’t grill).Toss the aubergines with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them out under a hot grill and roast until golden-brown outside. Set aside to cool and chop roughly.
- While the aubergines are cooking, fry the onions, garlic, chilli, 2 tsp sugar and the carrot on a high heat in olive oil until soft and turning brown, then add the bacon and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato cans, the origanum and the chopped aubergine and cook for 5 minutes to thicken, before adding the chopped olives and basil leaves.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce, top with grated pecorino and serve hot.
