Baked Rigatoni with Aromatic Eggplant and Melted Mozzarella

• small grape or plum tomatoes1 ¼kg kg
• golden fine sugar↗дрібка
• extra‑virgin olive oil↗4 ст. л. tbsp

  plus extra for drizzling

• large eggplant↗1

  (about 450 g/1 lb)

• rigatoni↗500g g
• garlic cloves↗2

  chopped

• black olives↗85g g

  pitted, sliced

• basil↗2 щедрі жмені

  leaves, plus extra for serving

• buffalo mozzarella↗450g g
• parmesan↗50g g

  freshly grated, plus extra for serving

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 140 °C (convection) or 160 °C (regular) or gas 3. Halve the tomatoes, place them cut‑side up on a shallow tray (I use a non‑stick Swiss roll pan), season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, drizzle with first‑press olive oil and bake for 45 minutes.

2. 2

   Meanwhile slice the eggplant into rounds, brush both sides with oil and arrange in a single layer on another tray. When the tomatoes have baked for 45 minutes, add the eggplant and bake for another 45 minutes.

3. 3

   A few minutes before the bake finishes, cook the rigatoni in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente (they should stay slightly undercooked as they will finish in the oven). Drain well, transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Prepare the olive mixture: 4 tbsp first‑press olive oil, minced garlic and sliced olives. Toss the pasta with the oil mixture and place half of it in a 2‑2.5 L baking dish.

4. 4

   Remove the tomatoes and eggplant from the oven (they can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead).

5. 5

   Raise the oven temperature to 180 °C (convection) or 200 °C (regular) or gas 6. Spread half of the tomatoes with their juice over the pasta in the dish. Roughly tear the basil leaves and sprinkle. Drain the mozzarella, pat dry with paper towel and slice very thinly. Lay two‑thirds of the slices on the tomatoes, season with ground black pepper and scatter over the eggplant. Add the remaining pasta, top with the remaining tomatoes, mozzarella and grated parmesan (this stage can be prepared 3‑4 hours ahead). Bake for 20‑25 minutes until the dish is heated through and the top is golden‑crisp. Serve hot, garnished with fresh basil and extra parmesan.