Hailing from Sicily, this classic Italian pasta is a luscious medley of meltingly soft eggplant and rich tomato sauce. We've fast-forwarded the sauce simmering for our weeknight version by baking it in the oven for a lovely, velvety texture. Sicilians like it hot, but you can adjust the chilli flakes to your liking.
Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced. Cut eggplant into 1-2cm dice. Peel and slice eschalot. Place eggplant and eschalot in a baking dish with oil, chilli flakes and ½ teaspoon sea salt and mix well to coat. Roast for 20 minutes or until eggplant is golden brown and almost tender. While vegetables are roasting, continue with step 2.
Cook pasta in a saucepan of salted, boiling water for 10–12 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 60ml (¼ cup) pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice garlic. Crumble stock cube into a heatproof jug with 200ml hot water and Italian Kitchen Herbs and mix to combine.
Remove eggplant from oven and pour over cherry tomatoes and stock mixture. Add garlic to tray and return to oven for a further 10–12 minutes or until eggplant is soft and sauce has reduced.
Remove eggplant mixture from oven. Stir through pasta, reserved pasta water and most of the parmesan (reserving some to serve). Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine.
Toss salad leaves with your favourite dressing. Divide pasta between bowls and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Serve with salad on the side.