Aubergines remind me of summertime and Sicily. If I were to describe such memories as a dish, I would call them ‘Pasta alla Norma’.
I am obsessed with the combination of tomatoes and aubergines, you can tell by scrolling through my recipes’ feed.
For this recipe specifically, I decided to make risotto instead of pasta and the day after I turned the leftover risotto into arancini. Cooking and eating well is so satisfying, but making
sure no food goes to waste it’s even better!
INGREDIENTS:
1 big aubergine
300g arborio rice
2 garlic cloves
1.5lt vegetable stock
200ml tomato sauce (or peeled plum tomatoes)
1 espresso cup of white wine
Olive oil for frying and tasting
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut the aubergine into small to medium cubes. Season with salt and place them in a sieve to drain with a weight on top, for at least 30 minutes. Squeeze the aubergines and fry together with a garlic clove in olive oil for a few minutes. Once cooked, place on kitchen towels to drain and cool.
Meanwhile, bring the veggie stock to a boil and in a saucepan heat a splash of oil with a garlic clove. Pour the rice, toast until golden and add the white wine.
Once the wine is completely absorbed, add the tomato sauce and continue cooking the risotto by adding the stock from time to time.
When the rice is nearly cooked, add some of the fried aubergines, freshly chopped basil leaves and season with olive oil just at the end.
Serve warm and garnish with more aubergines, black pepper and fresh basil leaves.
*Zero waste tip: if you have any leftover risotto, make arancini!