Roasted Tomato & Aubergine Pasta Puttanesca

Fast, fiery and intensely tomato flavoured, with golden roasted aubergine, capers, olives, basil and parmesan. Change up your usual pasta dish and bring this together for an enjoyable week night dinner!

You will need…

  • 1.6 – 1.8 kg tomatoes (half cherry, half regular – or whatever suits you)
  • 130 g tin of tomato paste(roughly 5 tablespoons)
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic , minced
  • 3 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 aubergines
  • extra olive oil for cooking eggplant and anchovies
  • 16-20 anchovies , drained of liquid
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (depending on heat preference)
  • 1/2 cup olives
  • 1/3 cup capers
  • spaghetti , to serve (amount depending on how much you normally eat). I use 2 x 400g packets of fresh spaghetti for 6-8 people.
  • fresh basil
  • fresh parmesan , grated, to serve
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray (or 2, if they are small) with baking paper.
  2. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half, and regular tomatoes into 8-10 chunks each. Lay out on the baking tray.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, 5 tablespoons olive oil, garlic and sugar. Toss mixture through the chopped tomatoes to coat.
  4. Place in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes.
  5. At the same time, slice the aubergines into 1cm thick rounds. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin coating of olive oil onto each side of the aubergine slices and season with salt & pepper. (Using a pastry brush or similar means you can use much less olive oil as you can spread it over the surface – otherwise it soaks in very quickly.)
  6. Place the aubergine in a single layer on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes, flipping the aubergine over after 15 minutes. The aubergine should have golden patches on each side and be cooked through. This may take slightly longer if your oven is very full with the tomatoes as well – if you don’t have room, you can cook the aubergine in a pan or on a barbecue – you may need more olive oil but it won’t take as long.
  7. Put on a pot of boiling water for your pasta.
  8. About 5 minutes before your tomatoes and aubergine is done, place the anchovies, chilli flakes and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, breaking up the anchovies into little bits as you go.
  9. Place half the roasted tomatoes in a food processor and puree to a sauce consistency.
  10. Add the pureed sauce and the remaining roasted tomatoes to the pan with the anchovies, stirring to combine. Add the olives and capers. Chop the roasted aubergine into chunks and add to the sauce.
  11. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
  12. Stir the sauce through the pasta and serve with fresh basil and parmesan.