Ingredients (to serve 4):
400 grams fettuccine (ok, i am not that fuzzy about the pasta so if you don't have fettuccine, spaghetti or spirals would do)
4 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
50 grams of sun-dried tomatoes
50 grams corn kernels
50 grams pine nuts
2 tablespoons or 50 grams of pesto sauce (I like eggplant pesto in this dish but you can also get basil pesto)
25 ml olive oil (for cooking sauce)
15 ml olive oil (for dressing)
15 ml olive oil (for cooking fettuccine)
1 carrot
100 grams of grilled eggplant
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (no black pepper in this dish, please)
Boil 2 liters of water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 15ml olive oil. Add fettuccine when it comes to a boil and keep boiling on medium to high for 10-15 minutes till it's about 80% cooked. You will notice it getting a bit translucent (yet solid in the center). That means it's *almost* there and you can take it off heat and drain the water. I don't like overcooked pastas as they become soggy and slimey.
When you put the fettuccine to boil, start working on the sauce so that they both finish together. Chop the red onion nice and fine and slice the garlic really thin. In a saucepan, add 25 ml olive oil and when warm, add onions and garlic. Unlike Indian cuisine, you should refrain from "browning" garlic as it should be caramelized in Italian dishes. Saute' this on low-medium for 3-4 minutes and add pesto, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped carrot (optional), chopped grilled eggplant (optional), pine nuts (chopped walnuts if you can't get pine nuts) salt and chilli flakes. Turn heat high and toss for 3-4 minutes. If fettuccine is not ready yet, turn the heat off under sauce. Once they are both ready, turn heat high, add fettuccine to sauce and toss again for 2 minutes. Plate up, drizzle with a few drops of olive oil per plate and top it up with chopped basil. Yum!
