MEDITERRANEAN STYLE - FUSILLI WITH SAUSAGE CHUNKS & EGGPLANT

“The inspired me”…..I was watching an Italian dish- eggplants in penne pasta on tv yesterday when the cook in me suddenly woke up and struck the bell. “Ding, Dong!” I ran into the kitchen with my new found idea dwindling in my mind. The result, u got to try it to believe it. Pasta with tahini, eggplant and sausage chunks!! That’s not all. It’s garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds. Can’t explain the taste when all those stuff is tossed together. I wasn’t expecting such an awesome flavour but it couldn’t get better! This is “the one signature dish” from Mj’s kitchen. Mom said “Once more”, so it has to be hell too good!

 If I had the ingredients, I would have made kebabs instead of using sausages but Alas! Not all wishes come true J…I have used the large purplish black eggplants. I removed the skin before cooking but you can keep it if u like. Please do not wash the eggplants after dicing them, i promise you, it will ruin everything! Eggplants get soggy when you wash them after cutting and lets out water when you cook it, gets all mushy and sloppy. Here, we wana keep them firm and crunchy.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

Pasta – 2 cups

Egg plants - 1 large peeled and diced

Sausage – 8

Bell pepper/ capsicum- ½ chopped without seeds

Fresh pomegranate – seeds from 1 whole

Garlic - 8 cloves crushed

Tahina/tahini (white sesame seeds paste) - 3 tablespoons

Lime juice – 2 tablespoon

Yogurt – 3 tablespoon

Olive Oil- 3 tablespoon

Parsley leaves – 2 sprigs chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

1.       Boil sausages till fully cooked. Cut into chunks and keep aside.

2.       Boil pasta till almost done, drain and keep aside. Don’t over cook them.

3.       Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a pan (large enough to toss the pasta). Cook garlic only till raw smell is off.

4.       Add eggplant pieces and sauté. Cook with lid on till eggplant is almost done.

5.       Now add sausage chunks and sauté on high flame till it starts getting slightly charred. Add bell pepper.

6.       Reduce flame and add the pasta.

7.       Add tahini. Mix well.

8.       Next add yogurt. Again mix well.

9.       Last add lime juice and mix well.(I know so many “mix well” but those are most important steps)

10.   Remove from flame. Transfer to serving dish. Then add pomegranate seeds.

11.   Garnish with olive oil and chopped parsley. Serve. There is absolutely no need for accompanimentsJ.

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