Name: Amatriciana N'Casciata
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500g Rigatoni; 250g Ricotta; 100g Parmesan; 300g Smoked Bacon; 3 Aubergines; 2 Cloves of Garlic; 800g Chopped Tomatoes (2 Tins); 1 Tsp Chilli Flakes

Amatriciana N'Casciata

A delicious, rich pasta dish. Covered in a layer of charred grilled aubergines. An Italian classic. Such a showstopper.

Italian Dinner Party Pasta

Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F

Cut your aubergine into long thin slices. Grill each slice on a griddle pan until charred and soft. If you don't have a griddle, use a frying pan with NO OIL. Set aubergine slices to one side.

Pasta sauce time. Cut up your bacon into chunks. Add to a pan with no oil. Cook on a medium heat until nice and crispy.

Add two chopped garlic cloves and a teaspoon of crushed chillies. Cook for 30 seconds and pour in tins of chopped tomatoes. Mix everything in and reduce the sauce down.

While the sauce is reducing, get your pasta on. When the pasta is al dente (not completely cooked) drain it and add to the sauce. Mix it all together and remove from the heat.

Take an oven proof dish (preferably metal). It has to be quite deep.

Line it with your aubergines. First line the bottom, making sure all the pieces of aubergine overlap. Place them around the edges until all sides are covered.

Spoon in a layer of pasta so it comes up to about a third. Spoon in your ricotta, smoothing it out. Grate over a layer of Parmesan and then add the rest of the pasta.

Place the remaining aubergine slices over the top so it is covered. Grate over some Parmesan and cover with tin foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and remove the tin foil. Place it back in the oven for 4 minutes so the Parmesan melts.

Place a plate on top of the dish, flip it and ease the tin off the pasta cake. Slice it up and tuck in! Enjoy!