EEF787BC-6753-45F9-8489-CACE859DA185.jpeg

This is a really nice dish and you can prepare as a veggie or non-veggie version. It does take a bit of preparation, as you need to pre-prepare the veggies in the oven, but the result is delicious and we really love the version with bacon. But then again – bacon goes well with nearly anything. Give it a try!

See how to prepare here

Ingredients for 4
For the sauce:
500g cherry tomatoes
2 medium sized augergines
2 cloves of garlic
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper
For non-veggie version: 1 pack of diced bacon

Additional ingredients:
500g pasta
60g walnuts, chopped
Parmesan cheese
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
A bit of the pasta-water

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (air circulation).
Wash the cherry tomatoes and aubergines. Cut the aubergines into 1cm sized bits. Mix together with the cherry tomatoes and olive oil evenly and pour onto a lined baking tray. Peel the garlic cloves and lay onto the baking try too (I remember where I place them to remove before I purée the rest later, but you can do either way). Place in the oven for approx. 25 minutes until the aubergines are golden brown and the tomatoes have burst.

Meanwhile prepare the pasta according to the pack. Keep approx. 200ml of the pasta water, when the pasta is ready. Furthermore chop the walnuts, cut the fresh basil leaves and grate the parmesan cheese. If you are preparing the non-veggie version, you need to fry the bacon (no oil needed) in a pan until crispy. Then lay onto a bit of kitchen towel to get rid of excessive oil.

Once the veggies are ready, remove from the oven and purée with a blender/mixer, but keep a few bits (if wanted), possibly you need to add a little of the reserved pasta-water to make it more fluid (just pour in bit by bit until the desired consistency is reached). Add the basil leaves. For the non-veggie version: Add the bacon with a spoon and stir with rest of the sauce.

Either you place the pasta on each plate and add sauce, sprinkle parmesan and walnuts on top last or you mix pasta & sauce together prior to serving, but still add parmesan and walnuts last. In any case – enjoy!