Tuesday 26 May 2015

A Taste of Something New!

Tagliatelle con Melanzane, Pomodorini, Olive & Dragoncello
Tagliatelle with Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives & Tarragon

 

You all know that I bought that bunch of tarragon on Saturday... And by Jimminy, I intend to get my money's worth out of it! Hehe!

The thing is, I love the aniseed-like flavor of tarragon and find it a little sad that we don't integrate it into more dishes and combine it with other ingredients... And so this evening, I tried out a new combination and used it in a pasta dish... Because being inquisitive and hungry at the same time calls for drastic action!



Eggplant, tomatoes and olives... Together with salted ricotta... A sure thing. With tarragon added? Hmmm... I was not so sure! But I was willing to give it a try! And after having done so... I have to say... That yes, it WAS a sure thing all along! Aromatic, tasty and ready in just 15 minutes! That's my kinda pasta dish!

 

And what do it take to make 2 lovely portions of pasta? Well... Obviously, pasta! Tagliatelle in this case... But otherwise, it took only 3 baby eggplants (or one small, regular eggplant), 1 small onion, 4-5 cherry tomatoes, a handful of black olives, a handful of fresh tarragon, salt, pepper, olive oil... And a little salted ricotta to grate it with at the end.

 


So few ingredients and yet such a rich and beautiful plate of ultra-delicious pasta! That's the beauty of Italian food... Less fuss-more flavor! And again... These pictures speak more than a thousand words! Keep looking, keep wanting... And then get cooking!


 

Cut the eggplants into bite-sized pieces, the cherry tomatoes into quarters, the olives in half and the onion into thin slices. Then get your water boiling for your pasta and start getting your frying pan hot for the rest!

 

Fry the eggplant and onion with a little olive oil until it starts to turn golden brown... 3-4 minutes. Then pop the pasta into the boiling water and let it cook for 5 minutes whilst you add the tomatoes and olives to the frying pan.


Add the olives, tomatoes and plenty of tarragon, season with salt and pepper and keep sizzling away until the pasta has boiled for 5 minutes... And then bring all of the ingredients together!

 

Add the pasta and plenty of the water it was boiling in and let it finish cooking in the frying pan, where it will deglaze the pan, pick up all of the good flavors that have been developing there... And soak them all up!


3-4 minutes later, when all of the water has been absorbed, along with all of the flavor... You will be rewarded with this amazing dish of flavorful pasta, ready to be grated with a little salted ricotta, to have a last grind of pepper added, a drizzle of oil and a few leaves of fresh tarragon to make it as pretty as it is tasty!

 

Stir it together a little, roll it up on your fork... Take a bite and feel like your in heaven! It's a simple as that!

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