Eggplant Pasta ’ncasciata Adventure

“What will you make for me?” “I mekka l’il pasta ’ncasciata.” He managed to control himself — otherwise he would have hugged her, kissed her, and danced a waltz with her.

Andrea Camilleri’s latest mystery novel “A Nest of Vipers” wasn’t the first time I wondered about pasta ’ncasciata, a dish prepared for my favorite fictitious Sicilian inspector, Salvo Montalbano, by his devoted housekeeper Adelina.

I had to get to the bottom of this hearty baked eggplant pasta dish once and for all.

Finding a good recipe for pasta ’ncaciata was the real mystery. Blogger Diane Darrow bravely attempted one in 2012 from the Italian cookbook “The Secrets of Montalbano’s Table: Camilleri’s Recipes.” It didn’t turn out as planned, not unsurprising since the Italian “recipe” doesn’t specify which kind of meat, how much tomato sauce, when or what to season with salt and pepper, how to slice the eggplant, or even an oven temperature.

The cookbook did include an interesting tidbit, though. It says to put a bunch of grated pecorino cheese on top before baking. “The cheese, melting, forms a light golden crust — hence the name ’ncasciata.” OK then.

A bunch of recipes, including the one from that book and Diane’s updated version this year, call for hard-boiled eggs and layers of salami or mortadella. That seemed like overkill for a dish already packed with pounds of cheese, protein, pasta, and fried eggplant.

Actress Debi Mazar and her husband Gabriele Corcos made a tantalizing version for their Cooking Channel show. Corcos is not Sicilian — he hails from the hills near Florence, in case this matters to anyone. Oddly, the video showed steps that weren’t in the written recipe. But the end result looked so tempting that Guillaume, who isn’t the biggest eggplant fan, wanted to try it.

We’ve made this twice now — with meat and with beans. The first was too salty because we mistakenly bought salted tomato sauce. Both times we dutifully waited for the dish to cool for about 15 minutes before serving, but the cheese was no longer melty. I made small tweaks like omitting the breadcrumbs for the top because they just fell off and mincing the garlic rather than cutting the cloves into chunks.

I recommend having these special tools: a mandoline, hand protection such as a metallic glove, and a springform pan. Since my mandoline makes very thin slices, they fried quickly. If you have an adjustable one, set it for 1/4-inch slices, give the eggplant slices more oil in the pan, and fry them for a bit longer on both sides.

Eggplant Pasta ’ncasciata

4 C. homemade or good quality tomato sauce (around 37 oz. unsalted canned sauce)
Softened unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
Around 1 oz. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. plain breadcrumbs
olive oil
1 lb. ground pork OR 1 can of pinto beans (15 – 16 oz)
1 large sweet onion finely chopped (for the vegetarian version)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ C. red wine, preferably Chianti
2 medium eggplants, ideally fairly long
1 lb. ziti pasta
1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (fine to use mozzarella pearls)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta until it’s soft, about 1 – 2 minutes past al dente, drain, and pour pasta into a very large heatproof bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to coat to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Grease the bottom and insides of a springform pan with butter. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs with approximately ½ oz. of finely grated Parmesan cheese. Coat the inside of the pan with the mixture. Knock out excess.

Vegetarian:
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion. Sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse a can of pinto beans. Add the beans to the pan along with the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the red wine and simmer until reduced by half, around 2 ­– 3 minutes.

Meat:
Heat 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground pork. Sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper and sauté until cooked, breaking meat up into small pieces with a spatula or large spoon. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the red wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. 

Add 4 C. of red sauce and bring back to a simmer. Cover, lower heat slightly and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed. We used around 1 teaspoon of salt. Set off the heat when it’s done.

Rinse and dry the eggplants. Trim off the top and bottom ends. Slice the eggplants lengthwise into ¼ -inch planks using a mandoline set over a large sturdy mixing bowl. Discard the initial skin-only slices. Use a protective glove. Slide the eggplant along the mandoline so the larger end hits the blade first. Rotate the eggplant as you go to get even slices. Slice more than you think you’ll need.

Fry the eggplant: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Fry the sections in a single layer, working in batches, until golden brown and toasty. Lower the heat as needed. For 1/4-inch thick slices, they’ll need several minutes per side. Repeat with the rest, using a drizzle of fresh oil for each batch. Remove batches the pan and drain on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Put new paper towels on top to put additional batches. Let the slices cool.

Add the tomato sauce to the pasta bowl and stir well to combine. Grate the fresh mozzarella over a bowl, gently pushing it over the grater so it crumbles.

To assemble the dish, line the bottom of the prepared springform pan with a single layer of eggplant, overlapping as you go. Save the nicest slices for the top. Line the sides with the eggplant planks vertically, allowing the excess to hang over the outside. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Scoop about a third of the pasta into the pan, then sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Add another third of the pasta, the rest of the cheese, and top with the last third of the pasta. Gently push the pasta down with your hands if it’s getting really full.

Fold the flaps of eggplant over the top of the pasta, using remaining eggplant slices to completely cover the top. Cover the top with sheets of plastic wrap and weigh it down with two heavy dinner plates. If your plates are light, put some cans on top. Refrigerate for a few hours up to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove the weighted plate and the wrap. Grate Parmesan over the top. Cover the top loosely with foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake until bubbling and the top is golden brown, an additional 15 minutes.

Let rest for several minutes before carefully unmolding from the pan. Use a small serrated knife to slice. Goes well with green salad and red wine.