Eggplant the easy way: Caponata

This is a great way to use eggplant and tomatoes, two things I tend to have in surplus this time of year!  But what I really love about this dish is its versatility: it works well as a side dish with steak or fish, or as a meal in itself with bread.  I'll even eat the leftovers cold on good bread (ciabatta, fresh rolls, or just toast!).
And it's fast - ready in no time at all!

DISCLAIMER: I am not Italian, and make no claims to that effect.  This is just a really tasty dish, which I enjoy making and refer to as caponata - I make no claims regarding the authenticity of this recipe, and suspect that genuine Sicilian caponata is a very different dish which also happpens to involve eggplant.
Take a couple of small eggplants, or one large one, or a combination (I often use a pile of long, skinny and small, round ones - just guess at the same volume as a large black eggplant)

 

Slice lengthways, turn and slice again:

 Slice across-ways one last time to make cute little squares.  These are about 2.5-3cm

Heat a wok or frypan, and add a couple of tablespoons of oil.  (I use rice bran, because it's light and doesn't smoke at high temperatures).  You want the pan to be really hot.  If a splash of water sizzles instantly, you're ready to cook.
Brown the eggplant in batches.  It doesn't need to be cooked right through at this stage, but seal the surface area, and get it nice and golden:

Meanwhile, finely chop an onion:

Throw into the pan (with the eggplant), and stir until the onion has softened.  Push it all to one side to clear a space at the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil, and add a clove of garlic (chopped or crushed), and about a tablespoon of capers (drain first.  I roughly chop mine so that they go further).  Stir these until the garlic starts to colour (you want a soft golden colour, not brown).

Before the garlic browns (burned garlic is bitter), stir through about 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar.  Once this has evaporated, throw in 1-2 cups of chopped tomatoes - a can works just fine if you don't have fresh ones. Add 1Tbsp of tomato paste, a handful of oregano (or 1-2tsp of dried oregano), and a handful of kalamata olives (pitted).  Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
Add olive oil if the texture seems dry - I like mine a little oily, but this comes down to personal preference.

Serve with a splash of balsamic, or more oil!

Edit note: have updated the first and last photos - thanks Jason for taking much better pics than me!  Fortunately I make this fairly often this time of year, and get a chance to re-shoot!

DIY Pasta

Who ever knew that homemade pasta was this simple?  I've made it twice this week (OK, possibly a little overboard), and this just beats the pants off the store-bought stuff.

Thanks to Jason for taking most of the photos, and for helping with the eating!

I tried an egg noodle recipe first - hand rolled and patiently cut with a sharp knife and a steady(-ish) hand, then grabbed a pasta machine on a whim (love those credit card loyalty points) and tried the real stuff.  Surprisingly easy:

This is the whole recipe.  For every 100g of standard flour, add one egg.  One portion (100g flour) did the two of us for dinner -  it's that easy.  Really.

Dump it in a bowl, or straight on the bench, and use a fork to whisk the eggs and slowly incorporate the flour.  

 

yes, I know that's a spoon.  you should use a fork.

 

Be prepared to get your hands dirty, and knead it until it's smooth.  Or wear latex gloves, they do an amazing job of stopping the egg from sticking to your hands, and make the whole thing a lot less daunting.  Personally, I hate finding egg and flour under my fingernails hours later, no matter how well I scrub.

Now, walk away and let it rest.  I just wrapped it in clingfilm and popped it in the fridge for a few hours while I got on with my life.

Now you have options: you can roll it by hand, as thin as you can, using lots of flour to stop it sticking.. and cut it as you please.  Be prepared to work up a sweat.

OR you can splash out on a shiny new pasta machine - which will do all of the work for you: Just clamp it to the table, and follow the instructions.  Feed through the rollers on the widest setting, and repeat a few times to work the dough.  Fold it in half and feed again, working to get an even width.

 

Crank the rollers through the settings, and the sheet gets thinner and thinner - and starts to feel rubbery.

Dust with flour as you go to prevent sticking, and cut in half if the sheet gets too long.

 

Once you get to the last setting, the instructions suggest laying the sheets out for 15 minutes to rest - I found this dried the edges too much, and made it hard to feed into the cutter, so skipped this the second time with no noticeable difference.

Clip on the cutter attachment, and feed through one last time.

Look! Fettucine!  It's magic!

Hang to dry on whatever you have handy.. you'll know when it's dry when it's hard and brittle, not soft and rubbery.

To cook, use lots of water (I ignore the ridiculous quantities they suggest for cooking dry pasta, but you really do need a bit more for fresh: the extra flour thickens the water quite a lot), and always salt your pasta water.  If you don't, it will always taste as though the sauce is lacking in something.. and you don't want to waste all that effort!  For fettucine, you'll want about 5 minutes - or until al dente.

[have no idea what happened to the picture of the finished product.  will just have to make more!!]

Enjoy!