Grilled Eggplant and Chilli Lemon Pasta, topped with Gorgonzola, Cranberries and Hazelnuts

First of all, apologies for being completely negligent of my food. The last few months have been a time of so much change - the closing of chapters and opening of beautiful French doors into a world of new highs and lows. Ha.

When life gives you lemons, to hell with the lemonade, you put on a spread with those lemons so lavished even the lemons’ eyes will water with bitter sweetness.

I’m in my new home this weekend alone and completely impoverished, so I decided to spend the last of my pay check on an amazing dinner, for one.

This recipe echoes the breath of an antipasto plate in your mouth, with all the benefits (and happiness) of pasta. Starting with a simple olive oil, lemon, chilli and garlic pasta, I add grilled eggplant and Gorgonzola cheese with the sweetness of dried cranberries and the crunch of toasted hazelnuts.

Ingredients

Serves 2

250g pasta

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

½ tsp chilli flakes

½ lemon, juiced

3 Lebanese eggplants

70g Gorgonzola cheese

50g dried cranberries

100g hazelnuts, toasted and crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Slice eggplants, length ways and cover in salt to sweat bitterness out. Set aside.

Bring water, salt and olive oil to the boil. Add pasta and cook until al-dente. In a hot pan, toast hazelnuts lightly and crush. Set aside.

Wipe off moisture from eggplants, salt and pepper and char in hot pan with olive oil until well browned on both sides.  Add crushed garlic and remove pan from heat. Allow garlic to heat and infuse.

Drain pasta, add to pan with lemon juice, olive oil and chilli. Combine with eggplant and top with Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries and hazelnuts.