Vegetable cacciatore
SERVES 4 (WITH LEFTOVERS) PREP AND COOK TIME 40 MINUTES
⅓ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil 1 large (200g) brown onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 (400g) flat mushrooms, cut into 1cm thick slices
2 tablespoons plain flour 2 medium (600g) eggplants, cut into 3cm pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves ½ cup (125ml) red wine
810g can crushed tomatoes 2 medium (240g) zucchini, chopped ⅓ cup (50g) pitted Kalamata olives 400g small spiral pasta
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 In a large, deep frying pan over mediumhigh heat, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil. Cook onion, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until fragrant and translucent. Add the garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the pan to a bowl and set aside. Heat another 1 tablespoon of the oil in the same pan and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until golden brown – they will release some liquid and become soft, then the liquid will evaporate. Cook to this point, then transfer to a bowl.
2 Place the flour in a large bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the eggplant in flour and shake off any excess. Pour the remaining oil into the same pan and swirl to coat. Place the eggplant in the pan and turn for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Add the tomato paste and oregano leaves, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the wine; cook, scraping the browned pieces from the base of the pan and simmer for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Add tomatoes, zucchini and onion mixture; simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Return mushrooms to pan with the olives; simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes. The sauce should be rich and thick, and the vegetables soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3 Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling well-salted water until al dente – tender but with some bite. Drain pasta; place in a large shallow serving bowl. 4 Pour the sauce over the pasta and scatter with parsley. Sauce suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.