This is a lazy lasagne inspired dish where you may use left over pasta from the day before and empty the fridge of lots of vegetables and the cheeses you may have. With pucks of aubergine and a few splashes of soy sauce, this classic tomato sauce becomes something extra. If you use a steel pan that can be put in the oven, you may finish off by grilling the cheese in the oven for extra caramelisation.
Ingredients
- 200 g macaroni
- 1 x eggplant
- 8 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 x yellow onion
- 1 x carrot
- 1 x celery sticks
- 4 clove garlic
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 x vegetable bouillon
- 2 tbsp soy sauce with less salt
- 1 handful parmesan
- 1 handful fresh basil
Method
- Boil salted water and cook the pasta as described on the package.
- Cut the top and bottom of an aubergine. Cut the remaining aubergine into 1 centimeter thick slices. Spread them out on a grid tray with parchment paper and add four spoons of olive oil as well as pinches of salt and pepper. Bake in the oven on 220 degrees celsiues until deep brown, but not burned (about 20 minutes). If you are usinga baking tray instead of a grid tray, you should flip the aubergine slices halfway as the tray may absorb more heat and burn the aubergine on one side.
- Finely cut onion, carrot and celery into small cubes and cook on medium heat in a pan with the remaining olive oil. If you do not have all the vegetables, you may add bell pepper. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and let the vegetables brown for five minutes.
- Mince garlic and cook with the vegetables in the pan for about two minutes.
- Add a tin of chopped tomatoes or passata, soy sauce and a cube of bouillon cube.
- Add the cooked pasta to the the sauce in the pan. Take the aubergine out of the oven, add them on top of the stew and press down until covered by the sauce.
- Sprinkle your preferred amount of cheese and the the stew cook until the cheese is melted. If you are using a steel pan that can cook in the oven, you may let it grill there for a minute on 200 degrees to melt the cheese.
- Top with fresh basil, parsley or dried oregano.
