Eggplant Sauce

Name: Eggplant Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Cluster tomatoes 2.25 lbs; Yellow onions 4.2 oz; Basil to taste; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Eggplant (to be cleaned) 1.1 lbs; Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

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PRESENTATION

Eggplant Sauce built from vine tomatoes, pan-fried eggplant, onion, and basil is a summer thing — the window when eggplant and ripe tomatoes overlap at the market. The eggplant goes into the pan until golden, then folds into the tomato base, producing a sauce with a soft, enveloping consistency whether you use fresh vine tomatoes or passata. Both work, and both land in the same place.

Its range goes well beyond pasta. Spoon it over gnocchi or grains for a straightforward weeknight dinner, or spread it on toasted bread or crostini for a casual aperitivo. The dual role makes it genuinely useful to have on hand, and because it freezes well, a larger batch now means you have eggplant pasta sauce ready to pull out through the rest of the year — long after summer market season ends.

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce: Cluster tomatoes 2.25 lbs (1 kg); Yellow onions 4.2 oz (120 g); Basil to taste; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (30 g); Fine salt to taste

For the eggplants: Eggplant 1.1 lbs (500 g) - (to be cleaned); Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp (50 g); Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Eggplant Sauce

To make the eggplant sauce, first trim and finely chop the onion 1. Put the onion in a skillet with a drizzle of oil 2, season lightly with salt and let it soften over medium-low heat for about ten minutes, stirring often 3.

Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into cubes 4. When the onion has become soft and translucent, add the tomatoes 5 and season with salt 6.

Cover with a lid, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 20 minutes 7. In the meantime, cut the eggplants first into slices 8 and then into cubes of about 3/8 inch 9.

After 20 minutes, stir the sauce and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, uncovered 10. Once cooked, pass the sauce through a food mill 11 to remove seeds and skins 12.

Clean the pan you used to cook the tomatoes and heat a generous drizzle of oil, then add the eggplants 13 and season with salt. Cook over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often 14. When the eggplants are soft and golden, add pepper and combine with the tomato sauce 15.

Flavor with basil leaves 16 and let everything reduce for another 3–4 minutes so the flavors can meld together well 17. Your eggplant sauce is ready to be used 18!