Pomodori e Vino ~ Eggplant and Ricotta Sauce

Ricotta and Eggplant Sauce~ Sicilian Style
This recipe, like all the others in 'The Essentials of Italian Cooking', takes simple ingredients and layers them into a mouthful of flavors. Marcella says she likes using cartwheel pasta 'route di carro'~ it is the perfect way to carry the flavors (you know 'carry', As in "I'm going to carry y'all to the store").
She suggests you use the fresh young eggplant. Dice the eggplant. Place the cubes in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. This will draw off the bitter juices. After an hour rinse and squeeze out the excess moisture.
The eggplant is fried until tender and drained. It is then then combined with onion, garlic, and tomatoes that have been lightly sautéd.
Combine all this with the freshly cooked pasta. Ricotta and parmigiano-reggiano are stirred in to add another layer of flavor.

Serve at once~ Mangia tutto!Simple, with lots of flavor. Another winner!

Ciao y'all,
Sandi