Melanzana Affogata

Yesterday was a wet, rainy, dreary day.  A perfect day for a slow-simmered sauce made with eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and basil.  I served it over pasta for Sunday Supper, but set some aside for a delicious egg dish I'll share tomorrow.

Melanzana Affogata translates as Suffocated Eggplant.  It is an easy sauce to make, not requiring much attention but still taking a few hours.  I think you can easily adapt this recipe to a slow cooker if you don't have an extra 3 or 4 hours to spare.

I was gifted these gorgeous eggplants from My Marina and Devin.  They grow them in a pot on their patio.  I was actually looking for a new egg recipe when I came across Suffocated Eggplant with Eggs.  I'll share that recipe tomorrow.  

The recipe that I'm sharing made a lot of sauce.  Since I was only going to serve the Suffocated Eggplant with Eggs to Frank and me, I reserved 1 cup for that and tossed the rest with pasta for our Sunday Supper.

The first recipe that I looked at was from Lidia Bastianich and contained ingredients I didn't have on hand.  Not wanting to make a grocery run during the storm, I looked at several other versions of the recipe and then made my own sauce based on what I read.

Sauces, Eggplant, Pasta, Tomatoes, Garlic, Braising,

Entrees, Sauces, Pasta

Italian

Yield: 4 cups sauce

Author: Wendy Klik

Melanzana Affogata

Melanzana Affogata translates as Suffocated Eggplant. It is an easy sauce to make, not requiring much attention but still taking a few hours. 

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 5 M

Ingredients

• 4 small or 2 large eggplants
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. passata or thick tomato sauce
• 1 c. water
• handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Cooked short pasta for serving

Instructions

1. Place the olive oil, eggplants, and garlic into a large skillet over low heat. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant has shrunk and is tender. About an hour.
2. Add the tomato sauce and water. Stir to combine, cover, and cook for another 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant melts into the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.
3. Toss with Pasta and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

229

Fat (grams)

8 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1 g

Carbs (grams)

38 g

Fiber (grams)

15 g

Net carbs

23 g

Sugar (grams)

19 g

Protein (grams)

7 g

Sodium (milligrams)

352 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

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