Eggplant Pasta With Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Capers
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:3 to 4 servings
- 1½pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½pound short pasta, such as shells or orecchiette
- ½cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling and as needed
- 12anchovies, coarsely chopped
- 8garlic cloves, 3 grated or finely minced, 5 thinly sliced
- 1cup coarse dry bread crumbs, either panko or homemade
- ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
- 1cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 2tablespoons capers, drained
- 1cup torn fresh basil or parsley
- 1lemon, zested and halved
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
657 calories; 37 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 25 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 860 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Place eggplant in a bowl and sprinkle all over with salt; set aside.
- Step 2
In a pot of well-salted water, cook pasta according to the package directions until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain well, reserving some of the pasta water (about ⅔ cup is plenty). Lightly drizzle pasta with olive oil to prevent from sticking together.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm ¼ cup olive oil. Stir in about a quarter of the chopped anchovies and all of the grated garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and sauté until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.
- Step 4
Wipe out skillet (no need to wash it). Add ¼ cup olive oil and put it back over medium-high heat until oil thins out in the pan. Add enough eggplant to fit in one layer without overlapping. Without moving them around too much, cook eggplant until brown on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir and let them cook on the other side until browned and thoroughly soft, 3 to 7 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer eggplant to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
- Step 5
Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and stir in remaining anchovies, the sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until garlic is pale gold at the edges (don’t let the garlic turn brown), 1 to 3 minutes.
- Step 6
Stir in tomatoes and capers. Cook until tomatoes just begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggplant, pasta and ¼ cup pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water if the mixture looks dry.
- Step 7
Stir in basil and lemon zest. Squeeze half a lemon all over the pasta and toss. Taste and add more red-pepper flakes, salt or lemon juice to taste. Generously sprinkle bread crumbs on top of pasta and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Susan
Cooking the eggplant and tomatoes on a sheet pan in the oven means you can use less oil and add a wonderful roasted flavor.
Fran Mazzara
A regular, a favorite...however we toast the breadcrumbs in the pan at the end, allowing them to absorb the flavors of all the ingrediants we just cooked in that pan. Adds an extra special touch, and taste, to the breadcrumbs.
Donna D
I haven't tried it, but was thinking finely chopped kalamata olives might work; my daughter is vegan, so I'm always thinking alternatives...
AB
Looks like it's not peeled in the photo. I find that if you leave the peel on the eggplant doesn't collapse and turn to mush the way it does when you peel it.
Ana
There is a Korean vegetarian seasoning called Yondu. It’s a good sub for fish sauce, so it might work well here. Lots of umami, all natural, no MSG or other additives. You can get it in Korean markets or on Amazon.
Mattb
Recipes which call for anchovies without specifying are the worst. There are canned anchovies of 20 types, salt-packed anchovies by the ounce at the counter, fresh anchovies at the fish market, marinated anchovies, and more. I'd use, only because I regularly make pasta dishes with these, a can of olive-oil-packed anchovies, similar to how tuna is packed in oil, rather than the super-salty ones...but wonder if the comment below about someone finding it too salty is because of the unclear recipe.
Judi
this was excellent flavor-wise. But it took a LONG time. Next time we will roast the eggplant and tomatoes as another reviewer suggested. But we will definitely do this again
Paloaltogirl
This was good but not spectacular, like glorified ratatouille. Too many outspoken flavors vying for dominance. I would, at least, omit the lemon zest, and simply make garlic crumbs, putting all of the anchovies in with the sliced garlic towards the end. Sometimes Clark’s recipes are needlessly complicated.
Izzy
This was very tasty when fresh! The bread crumbs were especially a treat. But be forewarned it does not reheat well. The dish gets overtaken by a fishy flavor when microwaved. If you make this, just be sure to eat it all the first night!
Erika
Delicious! Easy to make and so much flavor. The crumbs are magical.
Mac
I sprinkled the bread crumb mixture over the top and browned it under the broiler. Very nice!
Ronkie
I thought it was really great, but I agree that the next time I make it, I'll roast the egglant. 1) It took forever (tbh, I doubled the recipe and had a lot of eggplant to fry) and 2) I've yet to fry eggplant where there's left-over oil. The egglplant seems to absorb it all and I thought the result was a little too -oily dish. Otherwise, it's a winner.
Carole
Thanks for this recipe - really good (4/5). I like mutltiple flavours. I don't add salt because I frankly don't like it too much, so added a small amount crumbled feta on the base of the bowl and a little over the top. Worked well. The lemon is a must.
Liesel D
Amazing combination of flavors, textures, and deliciousness. Simplified by roasting eggplant in the oven. Only change next time might be to add some toasted pine nuts, because why not.
Cassandra
A lot of effort for what was, in the end, a pretty mediocre pasta dish
Christa
This recipe was absolutely wonderful and is definitely going in my summer eggplant repertoire, although I roasted the eggplant. I used orecchiette and parsley and love the holy trinity of garlic capers, and anchovies, and the lemon finished the dish off nicely with a sunny taste as it so often does in Melissa"s recipes.
nina
Half inch cubes on kitchen towel-lined plate salt and Microwave for 5 min, stir and add 5 more minutes. Proceed with recipe.
Izzy
This was very tasty when fresh! The bread crumbs were especially a treat. But be forewarned it does not reheat well. The dish gets overtaken by a fishy flavor when microwaved. If you make this, just be sure to eat it all the first night!
Christina
This was delicious. So flavorful and very filling
malva
Kalamata Eggplant roasted oven (first) Anchovies unclear how many Mycket tomat
T. Smith
The point of salting globe (Italian) eggplant is to draw out some of the bitter liquid. An important step is to toss the pieces in paper towels afterwards to wipe off the liquid and salt. Of course if you don’t do that it will be too salty. Also better to use a colander than a bowl. Cooking 1” cubes of eggplant “on one side, then the other” and thinking they’re now ready to eat is silly. As others observed this process takes a while and way more tossing.
martha Ross
I added two good handfuls of freshy grated Parmesean and served it up with a nice swirl of Acacado Oil and pepper. Loved it! Will do it all again.
SlewpJB
Agree with comments about: * roasting the eggplant instead of frying * time it takes * too many competing flavors * uncertainty about the amount of anchovies: I used 12 strips from an Italian jar, not tin, and got neither anchovy flavor, nor salt, nor umami. Will try one more time with double the anchovies and roasting the eggplant and cutting back on the lemon. I really want this to work, but it's just not quite right.
judith
Tried with eggplant and zucchini. Use only eggplant and roast. Less oil: more carmelizing.
wn
I used Cento canned anchovies in olive oil and used the oil in the can to replace some of the oil in the recipe. Followed the recipe as is otherwise. Delicious flavors. The bread crumbs add the crunch and make it even more delicious. Even my 6 and 10 year old loves it. It definitely took way more time than 45 minutes, however!
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