Gratinated vegetable noodles

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g pasta
• 1 large onion(s)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 250 g eggplant(s)
• 200 g zucchini
• 100 g celery (preferably a little less)
• 300 g tomatoes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp sage, chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• black pepper
• 125 ml red wine, dry
• 100 g cheese (freshly grated Pecorino)
• 200 ml cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp herbs, chopped (parsley, savory, rosemary, lovage)
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• Butter for the mold
• 50 g butter, melted

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the vegetables, and process them unpeeled. Cut the eggplant into approximately 1 cm thick cubes. Slice the zucchini and celery. Blanch, peel, and dice the tomatoes. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the diced onion and garlic until lightly browned. Fry the eggplant, zucchini, and celery over high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the diced tomatoes and season with thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Pour in the red wine. Sauté uncovered over high heat until the vegetables are soft and the red wine has reduced by half. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, drain, and toss with the vegetables. Butter a gratin dish and pour in the pasta and vegetable mixture. Combine the cheese with the cream and egg yolk, add the herbs, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Spread the cheese sauce over the pasta and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes. Drizzle the surface occasionally with melted butter. If desired, you can sprinkle the gratin with a mixture of fine breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese halfway through cooking. Caution: The celery is quite overpowering. If you don’t like the flavor, use a little less celery or omit it altogether and use more zucchini and/or eggplant instead.