Aubergine sauce for pasta
Aubergine sauce with sweet pepper, tomato, and basil
When used to make a pasta sauce, aubergine is a vegetable that can spring surprises, not all of them aggreable. The flavour can swing from bitterness to cloying greasiness. The aubergines in this recipe are stewed in tomatoes. The result is authoritatively fragrant and spicy, yet delivers a good measure of that lively sweetness that is the aubergine's most winning feature.
Marcella Cucina
3 tablespoons olive oil     Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, without letting it become coloured Cover, cook at a gentle steady simmer 40 minutes. If the cooking juices dry up, add more wine; but not too much, since there should be no water left at the end
3 cloves garlic peeled, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried chopped chilli  
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley     Stir in, cook over low heat until soft
75g onion thinly sliced
2 yellow and orange peppers peel, cut into thin strips   Add, cook until somewhat tender
850g aubergines Halve lengthways. If seeds are dark, scoop out. Cut into pieces 8x5x2 cm. Sprinkle, toss, leave to drain 45 minutes; rinse, pat dry   Mix in
salt  
180g canned tomatoes with juice chopped
200ml white wine  
6 large basil leaves torn by hand
6 green olives sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons capers  
Serves 4
Serve with boxed dry pasta, preferably a short tubular shape. Toss pasta with a tablespoon of oil, then with sauce.
The sauce can be prepared a day in advance, and reheated gently but thoroughly.