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Aubergine Pasta Bake with Giant Shells and Ricotta

aubergine pasta with giant shells in a baking dish with a spoon
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Aubergine, creamy ricotta, tomato, giant shells and mozzarella. Nothing more comforting and a great way to eat giant shell without individually stuffing each shell.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 aubergine
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 500g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 500g ricotta
  • 200ml double cream
  • 500g giant shell pasta
  • 400g mozzarella (the low moisture mozzarella works well here)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Parmesan
  • Fresh basil

Instructions

  1. Cube the aubergine and heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add a generous amount of oil and add the aubergine. You want enough oil to get a good colour and for it to be tasty but not so it’s waterlogged. Chop the onion and add to the pan of aubergine. Fry until soft, followed by the crushed garlic.
  2. Add cherry tomatoes, a tin of tomatoes and then fill half the tin up with water and add back to the pan. Cook for another few minutes on high heat until the tomatoes start to burst and disintegrate. Smash them with the back of a spoon to encourage them to burst, adding more water if needed.
  3. Season well with salt and pepper and add a splash of balsamic. Keep bubbling gently until a lovely sauce forms. Heat the oven to 200c.
  4. Get your pasta on to boil but drain it around 3 minutes before it’s done. It will continue cooking when you bake it. Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta and double cream in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Like you would for a lasagne, you’re going to layer the dish up. Add a layer of tomato sauce, a layer of pasta, some white sauce and then a few slices of mozzarella and a good grating of parm. Repeat this again to fill the dish!
  6. Cover the top with mozzarella and parm, bake at 200c for 20 minutes until the top is golden and crisp. Serve with fresh basil on top.

Notes

Make sure you cook the pasta for less than the instructions say as it continues cooking in the oven.

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/aubergine-pasta-with-giant-shells/