large american eggplant (1/4in diced)
yellow onion diced
~3 tbsp salt
2x 14oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt)
1lb pasta fusilli or rigatoni + 1tbsp salt
~2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup fresh basil sliced
70g parmigiana reggiano cheese, grated
salt the diced eggplant and let sit for ~25 minutes stirring occasionally
dice the onion and slice the basil while waiting for the eggplant
fry onion in a little bit of olive oil and once lightly browned add the tomatoes, 1 cup water, and garlic, simmer while continuing the recipe
squeeze excess water from eggplant and toss with ~1 tsp olive oil
cook the eggplant in the air fryer for 35 minutes tossing every 8 minutes
heat the water with the ~1 tbsp salt until boiling
when eggplant is almost finished, boil the pasta in water for 1 minute less than time on box, just before finished add 1/2 cup pasta water to the sauce
add the basil (reserve some for garnish), eggplant, and olive oil to the sauce, add a little sauce to the pasta to prevent sticking
remove sauce from heat and stir to cool for about 1 minute, then little by little dissolve cheese (reserve some for garnish) into sauce
mix sauce into pasta and plate servings topping with cheese and basil