Eggplant casserole with pasta

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g pasta, e.g. spaghetti, tagliatelle, whatever you like
• 4 eggplant(s)
• 500 g tomatoes, pureed
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 3 balls of buffalo mozzarella
• olive oil
• 100 g Parmesan, fresh
• salt and pepper
• 10 basil leaves
• basil leaves
• some Parmesan, coarsely grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Pasta with parmigiana di melanzane

Wash and slice the eggplants, season well with salt, and let stand for 20-30 minutes. For the sauce, finely chop the garlic and sauté in olive oil over low heat. Add the passata and finely torn basil, and simmer with the lid closed. Heat plenty of olive oil in a large pan and fry the blotted eggplant slices in batches; they should brown well. Add more olive oil occasionally, as the eggplants absorb a lot of the oil. Place the cooked eggplants on kitchen paper and drain. Once all the eggplants are cooked, the tomato sauce should be ready. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour a little olive oil into a suitable baking dish, slice the mozzarella, and grate the Parmesan cheese. Spread a ladleful of tomato sauce into the dish. Layer the eggplant slices, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese one after the other with the tomato sauce in the dish until all is used up. If desired, scatter a few basil leaves between layers. The last layer should be Parmesan cheese. Place the casserole in the oven at 180°C (convection oven) for 30-40 minutes. During this time, cook the pasta. Serve the pasta garnished with the finished casserole, coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, and a few basil leaves on top.