🛒 Ingredients

👨‍🍳 Preparation

1. 1

   Begin by prepping the aubergines. After washing and drying them, peel and slice into roughly 1 cm thick rounds. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with salt to draw out any bitterness. After around half an hour, rinse and pat them dry.

2. 2

   Heat plenty of vegetable oil in a frying pan until hot, then fry the aubergine slices until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

3. 3

   Hard boil 3 eggs in a saucepan of water until fully cooked.

4. 4

   In a mixing bowl, combine the minced meat with 2 eggs, 50 g of grated caciocavallo, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Mix well, then shape into small meatballs slightly larger than a hazelnut and set aside.

5. 5

   For the sauce, warm 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan with the garlic cloves. Once the garlic turns golden, add the tomatoes and let the sauce simmer gently for 30 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in the peas, then when the sauce is bubbling, add the meatballs and a few basil leaves. Cook until the sauce thickens.

6. 6

   Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until just firm to the bite, then drain and mix with a couple of ladles of the sauce and some meatballs.

7. 7

   Grease a baking dish with extra virgin olive oil and spread a few spoonfuls of sauce over the base. Pour in half the pasta, level it out, then layer on the fried aubergines, chopped salami, quartered hard-boiled eggs, half the sliced tuma, half the meatballs and a sprinkle of caciocavallo cheese. Top with the remaining pasta.

8. 8

   Cover the pasta with the remaining sauce, tuma cheese, and grated caciocavallo, then bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15-20 minutes.

9. 9

   Once the top is golden and the cheese melted, remove from the oven.

10. 10

    Serve the Catanese baked pasta straight from the oven to the table.