Bucatini, And A Sausage-and-eggplant (aubergine) Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb bucatini pasta or 1 lb penne
• 8 ounces fresh mild lamb sausage
• 2 eggplants
• 14 ounces canned tomatoes
• olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 pinch fresh thyme
• 4 basil leaves (torn)
• salt & pepper
• grated parmigiano (or romano)

Recipe

• 1 peel and cut the eggplant into ¾ inch cubes, put the pieces in a colander, sprinkle them well with salt, and let them sit for a ½ hour in the sink, while the salt draws out the bitter juices. rinse and pat them dry.
• 2 set pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the bucatini.
• 3 while doing this, cut the sausage into bite size pieces, add the eggplant and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the mixture until the sausage begins to brown and the eggplant has wilted.
• 4 add the tomatoes, thyme, basil and continue cooking covered for about 10 minutes, adding a little more liquid if the sauce looks like it's drying out. when the pasta is done, season it with the sauce and serve it with the cheese on the side.