• 1½ lbs (675 g) of aubergines, diced into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped roughly
• 1½ lbs (675 g)  ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 12 ozs (340 g) tagliatelle
• 2 ozs (56 g) butter
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 8 ozs (225 g) diced mozzarella cheese
• 4 ozs (112 g) grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Dice the aubergines, put into a colander and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a plate and weigh it down. Leave  for about ½ an hour then squeeze dry in a clean tea cloth or kitchen roll.
2. Cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of fast boiling, salted water with a few drops of olive oil until almost al-dente.
3. Fry the onion in some olive oil for around 5 minutes and then add the drained aubergines and crushed garlic.  Continue cooking for another 5 minutes and then stir in the chopped tomatoes, basil and tomato puree. Season with salt and pepper and then cover the pan and simmer for around 20 minutes.
4. Drain the cooked tagliatelle and then return it into a hot pan and toss it with the butter, half of the parmesan and all of the diced mozzarella.
5. Spread the tagliatelle over the base of a greased ovenproof dish, cover with vegetable mix and sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan.
6. Bake ina pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 4 (350°F/180°F) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serves 4.

If you like olives, you can add them to the vegetable mix at the end before it goes over the tagliatelle.