Winter is here. 

We are a few days premature of June but given Melbourne's crazy weather, it might as well be winter. This cooler weather has my taste buds constantly fixated on meals that are hearty and comforting. Exhibit A: pasta. The pantry staple just teams beautifully with so many different ingredients; the creations are endless. The results: delicious. Especially when a good quality pasta is involved. When it comes to quality, premium Italian brand Pasta Garofalo certainly delivers and has been doing so since 1789. The assortment of cuts and shapes further adds to the versatility of pasta. There are those that most of us are familiar with: spaghetti, pappardelle, fusilli and penne to name a few. And then there's more: calamarata, capellini, casarecce... the list goes on. But regardless of the shapes, the results are always delicious and silky fresh time and time again. 

One of my favourite go-to pasta recipes is a chilli eggplant ragu pasta. This one is particularly good for the colder weather given the additional heat that it packs with its spice. Needless to say, this recipe gets visited quite a bit come winter time. Read on for the recipe. 

CHILLI EGGPLANT RAGU PASTA

ingredients

500 g Pasta Garofalo Pappardelle, prepared according to the package instructions

1 brown onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 long red chilli, sliced

1 large eggplant, diced into 1-2cm pieces

400 g tinned tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Fresh basil, cherry tomatoes (halved) and parmesan to serve

methods

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic and chilli over medium heat for 5 - 6 minutes or until the onions are softened. 

2. Add the eggplants and cook for a 2-3 minutes until slightly brown. 

3. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. Lower the heat and allow the ragu to simmer for 20 minutes, ensuring that the eggplant pieces are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir the ragu through the cooked pappardelle and serve with chopped basil, cherry tomatoes and parmesan. 

Buon appetito! 

Disclosure: this post was sponsored by Pasta Garofalo.