Aubergine & Lardon Penne Recipe

Ingredients

1 onion
1 aubergine
1 garlic clove
A gloss of olive oil
200g lardons
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
A tin of chopped tomatoes
200g penne
A grating of Parmesan

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Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Chop the aubergine into small cubes about 1 cm big. Peel and grate or crush the garlic. Warm your oven to its lowest setting.

2. Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep frying pan or wok. Add the lardons and fry them on a medium heat for 5 mins till golden, stirring now and then. Use a slotted spoon to lift the lardons out of the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Keep the plate of lardons warm in the oven.

3. Add the diced aubergine to the pan. Stir and fry for 5 mins till the aubergine looks soft and is lightly coloured. Lift out of the pan and add to the plate with the lardons.

4. Add the onion and ½ tbsp olive oil to the pan with a little salt and pepper. Cover and sweat for 10 mins over a very low heat, stirring now and then. When the onion is soft, add the garlic to the pan. Fill another pan with water, cover with a lid and bing it to the boil.

5. Stir the chopped tomatoes into the pan with 2 tbsp water. Stir in the lardons and aubergine. Cover and simmer for 10-15 mins, stiurring often, till the sauce has thickened up a little.

6. While the sauce cooks, add the penne to the boiling water with a pinch of salt. Pop on a lid and simmer for about 8 mins. When the pasta is cooked but still has a bit of bite to it, drain.

7. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if you think it needs it. Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat the pasta in the sauce. Serve immediately, topped with grated Parmesan.

8. Umami me^ Umami is one of the 5 ‘tastes’ in food, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Your dinner is packed with savoury, umami-rich lardons, tomatoes and Parmesan. Yummami.