This comforting pasta is a simple but impressive crowd-pleaser
A love letter to the Ionian islands, this recipe pairs roasted garlicky goodness with flavours of tomato and feta.
Skordostoumbi is a dish found in the Ionian islands. It’s layers of eggplant and tomato, and heavy on the garlic – the name means garlic cloves. It is traditionally a vegan dish, but here I’ve roasted it in the oven, surrounding a block of feta. It’s super simple but looks impressive, and makes an excellent sauce for pasta.
Try also my Greek-style lamb shanks and caramelised butter beans.
Eggplant and feta pasta (skordostoumbi)
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 6 garlic cloves
- 400g cherry tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 × 200g block of feta
- 350g spaghetti or linguine
- ½ bunch of basil
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200C (180C fan forced).
- Trim the eggplant and peel off most of the skin. I use a peeler. Cut the flesh into 2cm cubes and place in a large roasting tray.
- Crush the garlic cloves with the side of your knife, leaving them in their skins. Add to the tray with the cherry tomatoes, caster sugar, chilli flakes and most of the dried oregano. Season everything generously and drizzle with four tablespoons of the olive oil and all the red wine vinegar. Really massage in the flavours.
- Nestle the feta in the middle of all the ingredients, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, scatter over the rest of the dried oregano and pop the tray into the oven. Roast for 40-45 minutes, until the vegetables are charred and blistered and the feta is golden around the edges.
- When the vegetables are almost ready, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente (or how you like it).
- Tear or chop the basil leaves.
- When the pasta is nearly done, remove the tray from the oven. Scoop out about 200ml of the starchy pasta water and mix with the vegetables and feta in the tray, really crushing in the garlic (removing the skins) and breaking up the feta.
- Drain the pasta, reserving the water. Toss the pasta through the tray, adding a further 100–150ml of the pasta water, until the juices are creamy and oozy.
- Finish with the torn basil leaves and serve straight away.
Serves 4
