Another Pasta in Italy

Hello and happy Tuesday.

Cooking on Vacation, an accidental mini-series, continues. This time, a beautiful pasta with eggplant and sausage (on the side). Before we get into it, a few things: 

Thank you to Edible Brooklyn for putting me on their cover this month– in my element, shopping the pasta aisle at Brooklyn Fare (and thank you to Brooklyn Fare for letting us take this photo). I love grocery stores and if I could take all my photos inside one, I would! Trust me, I’ve tried! 

You can read the short and sweet interview with man about town, John Ortved, here. 

Thank you to everyone who’s pre-ordered the new book– I am so excited for it to come out into the world (in a little over one month, can you believe), and even more excited to go on tour to talk about it. Several cities are sold out or close to sold out (DC, SF, London show 1), but plenty of tickets remain for other cities. Seattle, I know you are especially upset that I have chosen Portland, Oregon over you, and trust me when I say: I’m sorry, I could only do one. That said, it’s a three hour drive– seems like you could make a little trip out of it?! Imagine…you and your best friend…the open road…think about it. (Same re: Philadelphia to New York…take the train…some might say our greatest mode of transportation…could be great). 

What you can expect on tour: 

• Wonderful conversation with some of the most incredible people I have the privilege of knowing (Kate Berlant! Raven Smith! Helene York! AND MORE). We’ll chat about writing books, opening stores, starting businesses and “living online in 2025.” 
• Robust audience Q&A. Come prepared.
• Merch! I’m not making much this time around, so I’m bringing it on the road with me. 
• The option to buy a ticket with or without a signed book/exclusive merch package. You asked, I listened! 
• A night of unforgettable laughs and memories (for me, and for you). 

You can pre-order the book here, and find tickets to see me here. 

When asked (and I’m often asked), what my top three, must-have kitchen tools* are, my answer is as follows: 

1. A sharp knife. This is generally “a chef’s knife,” though I have a few other favorites I keep around for specific tasks, or, because I like the way they look. Weirdly, I’ve been asked a lot lately what knives someone should have, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. So much so that it prompted me to buy all new knives (it had been about 8 years since I had purchased a new knife– it was time). Later this week, I’ll share what I bought and why I think they are the knives you need.

2. Tongs. Anything I can do with a spatula, I can generally do with tongs, but things I can do with tongs, I cannot do with anything else. With tongs I can toss, I can turn. I can rotate, I can lift. I can scrape, I can move. These are the tongs I love– without a spring or bell or whistle or piece of silicone in sight. 

3. A microplane. This might seem surprising as it could feel too niche or single use, but I use it so frequently for garlic, ginger, lemon, fresh turmeric, parmesan and other hard, salty cheeses (oh, and, maybe once a year: nutmeg) that I feel lost without it. I feel its absence in a deep, intense way. This is my favorite, I also have this one (they are different!). 

*a pot, skillet, sheet tray, cutting board, etc. are not “tools” but “equipment” which is a different question!

This kitchen had a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea but none of those things (I'll take it). That’s okay, I was still able to make some remarkable (beep beep) food. Once again, I’ll use this opportunity to say cooking in a rental with none of your creature comforts builds character and lends itself to further honing your craft!! I did things with a fork I never thought possible. I pushed the limits of what is possible with only my hands and one pot. I grated cheese on something so dull I could rub it over the surface of a balloon without it popping like they do with a razor to show how safe the razor is in those old commercials for razors. A reminder that without the things you think you need, you are still capable of great and wonderful things. 

In keeping with the cooking on vacation theme, this pasta doesn’t quite need a recipe– but I’ll provide one for those who feel safe with one by their side– take it as inspiration, not a mandate. 

Tomato Pasta with Eggplant and Sausage (on the side)

Serves 4

Decidedly a tomato pasta with eggplant and not an eggplant pasta– so much so that the eggplant could easily be replaced with any vegetable– say, peppers, fennel or zucchini. The moral of the story is you can sauté any vegetable in sausage fat, add tomato sauce or puree and have a very good, saucy tomato pasta that’s more than the sum of its parts. With a little sausage on the side, it feels more like a “full dinner” and less like a “bowl of food”.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more
• 1 pound sausage of your choosing 
• 1 pound eggplant, fennel or zucchini, chopped 
• 1 red or yellow onion, sliced (not too thin) 
• Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 24-ounce jar tomato sauce, puree, or can of crushed tomatoes
• Fresh or dried oregano, optional 
• Crushed red pepper flakes, optional 
• 2 cloves garlic, very, very well crushed or finely chopped 
• 1 pound dried pasta such as casarecce or rigatoni 
• Basil, if you have it
• Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, for grating 

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add sausage and using a fork or tip of a knife, poke holes sporadically to allow the fat and steam to escape as it cooks. Cook the sausage, turning occasionally until well browned on all sides and cooked through, 10–12 minutes, depending on style and thickness of sausage.
2. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside, leaving all the fat behind (there should be a good bit). Add the eggplant and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is nicely browned and impossibly tender and the onions start to fry a little at the edges (the eggplant may start to stick a little as it cooks, that’s okay…add more olive oil as needed), 10–15 minutes.
3. Add tomato (whatever type you’re using) and season again with salt and pepper. Add two cups or so of water (I like to fill the jar or can with water and swirl it to get all the bits out) to the pot, along with any oregano or crushed red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, occasionally crushing the eggplant with the side of a spoon or flat-sided spatula, encouraging it to break down into the sauce. Add the raw garlic and continue to cook until the sauce has nicely thickened and the eggplant is totally softened, 10–12 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until just al dente. Using a slotted spoon, remove pasta and transfer to the pot with the sauce and continue to cook until the pasta is totally cooked through, another few minutes or so.
5. Divide pasta among bowls and finish with torn basil and grated cheese.
6. Serve alongside sausage and maybe a nice little salad.