Aubergine Noodle of Love

Not so healthy, but so good - and that's good enough...!

My sister introduced her now-husband to our family on a Friday. On the menu was an oversized dish of Nudelauflauf: the eggy, cheesy crisp spaghetti bake we ate every Friday to satisfy four sisters after two long and hungry weeks away at boarding school. Devouring his first plate, he politely asked for a second, and wanting to impress us with his new-found grasp of German gave us his rendition of what he thought we were eating: noodle of love. The boyfriend became a husband, and Nudelauflauf became Noodle of Love. It’s the most versatile and easy eating dish, you can throw in anything you want really. 

Ingredients:

•  1 pack of spaghetti                                                                                  
•  1 medium sized aubergine                                                                      
•  2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes                                                                    
• 3 cloves of garlic                                                                                        
• 2 eggs                                                                                                        
• Dash of milk or cream  (about 100ml)                                                       
• Parmesan cheese for grating over

Level: Super Easy
Prep time: 1 ½ hrs

Method:    

Preheat oven at 180*.

Cut aubergine into thin slices, arrange onto a tray lined with baking paper. Chop up garlic and sprinkle over the slices, then drop whole cherry tomatoes over the tray. Lightly pour olive oil over the tray, making sure that you cover each slice. Season with salt and pepper, then stick into the oven for about 35 minutes, till aubergine turns golden and soft.  

Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the pasta. Pour in salt (you want your water to be as salty as the Mediterranean sea with pasta) and a swig of olive oil. Once the water is boiling break the spaghetti in half and cook al dente (about 11 minutes). Drain the pasta and set aside.

Once the goods in the oven are ready, pierce the cherry tomatoes with a fork and mix into the pasta. Make sure all is distributed evenly, then pour into a rectangular baking dish.

Beat together egg and milk/cream mix, then distribute evenly over the bake. Grate over liberal amount of parmesan and put back into the preheated oven.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the spaghetti on top turns brown and crispy and the liquid no longer runs when you move the dish. The more crispy the better.

Serve with ketchup or chilli chutney - it’s a dream!