Pasta in Roasted Eggplant Sauce – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Roasted Vegetables

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Cut the vegetables into even pieces.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 3
   Sprinkle salt over the vegetables and leave 20 minutes, so it releases liquid.
4. 4
   In a bowl, toss the vegetables with the olive oil.

   Bowl
5. 5
   Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding.

   Baking pan
6. 6
   Roast the vegetables in a hot oven (200°C / 390°F) 25 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and golden.

   ⚙ Oven roastingOvenBaking pan

   💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 7
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and black pepper with the salt.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 8
   Add and fry 3 minutes, until the peppers soften.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 9
   Add and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

For the Cooked pasta

1. 10
   Cook the gluten-free pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of gluten-free pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
2. 11
   Reserve cup of the cooking water before draining.

   ⚙ Saving the cooking waterLadleorMeasuring cup

   💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the gluten-free pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
3. 12
   Drain.

   Colander

To assemble

1. 13
   Add the roasted vegetables to the sauce.
2. 14
   Add the drained gluten-free pasta to the sauce, with a little of the cooking water if it is thick, and toss well.

   💡Toss the gluten-free pasta in the sauce over the heat for one minute: it soaks up the sauce instead of just being coated in it.
3. 15
   Serve immediately with the Parmesan and basil.