Eggplant Puttanesca

Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles

	2 medium-large eggplants
	½ teaspoon salt
	2 tablespoons olive oil
	1 clove garlic, sliced
	30g anchovy fillets (drained weight)
	1 red chilli, finely chopped or ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
	½ cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
	¼ cup capers
	2 tablespoons lemon juice
	¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1.	Cut the eggplants into a 1cm dice.
2.	Put into a colander and sprinkle with the salt, mixing around to coat well. Set aside.
3.	Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan along with the garlic and anchovies, crushing them with a wooden spoon.
4.	Then add the chilli, olives and capers and cook for 3 minutes.
5.	Add the eggplant with ¼ cup water and cook for 25 minutes, stirring frequently.
6.	At this point you can stir through the lemon juice and parsley and use this as a topping for breads such as bruschetta or pizza, or as an accompaniment to meats or barbecued or roasted vegetables.
7.	To serve as a pasta sauce, bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt well.
8.	Add 350-400g pasta and cook until al dente.
9.	At the end of cooking, scoop out ⅓ cup of the pasta water and stir into the eggplant along with the lemon juice and parsley.
10.	Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce.
11.	Serve with crisply fried capers, breadcrumbs and parmesan.