Tubular pasta tossed in a slowly stewed meat sauce. The tomatoes tenderize the ground pork while the onions, carrots and eggplant create balance to neutralize their acidity, creating a craveable cozy meal.
Garganelli with Eggplant Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons 1 ounce olive oil
- ½ cup 2 ounces pancetta or uncooked bacon, small dice
- 1 cup 2 ounces eggplant, medium dice
- ½ cup 2 ounces onion, small dice)
- ½ cup 2 ounces celery, small dice
- ½ cup 2 ounces carrots, small dice
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 cloves garlic
- 28 ounce can San Marzano style tomatoes
- 2 Whole bay leaves
- 1 cup water or low sodium vegetable stock additional as needed
- ½ pound dried garganelli
- Salt as needed
- Parmesan garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a saucepan over moderately high heat. Sauté the pancetta in oil until slightly browned. Add the eggplant, onion, celery and carrots to the pan and sweat to soften.
- Add the ground pork and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, 20-30 seconds.
- Pulse the tomatoes in a blender for 3-4 seconds before adding them to the saucepan, along with the bay leaf and vegetable stock. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for two hours. Check occasionally, adding more stock if needed to prevent scorching. Taste and season with salt to your tastes.
- Add the garganelli noodles to a separate pot of lightly salted boiling water. Cook the pasta al dente then remove from the water, retaining the liquid.
- Adjust the consistency of the sauce with the retained liquid if needed. Toss the cooked pasta in the sauce to coat. Garnish with parmesan.
