MAKING A PASTA SAUCE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Pick the basil leaves and finely chop the stalks. Trim and cut the aubergine into 2cm slices.
  2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and sweat the onion, garlic and basil stalks for 7 minutes.
  3. Add the tomatoes, season well and bring to a steady simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, fry the aubergine in the remaining oil until golden, then stir into the tomato sauce with most of the basil leaves.
  5. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, drain, then stir through the sauce.
  6. Divide between plates and crumble over some ricotta and scatter over the reserved basil leaves before serving.

Steps:

• Put a large pot of generously salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. In a small skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, and cook very gently until garlic is soft and begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• When water is boiling, add kale leaves, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Pull out the hot, dripping kale leaves with tongs, and put directly into a blender. (Don’t drain the pot; you’ll use that same boiling water to cook the pasta.) Add garlic and its oil to the blender, along with a splash of hot water from the pot if you need some more liquid to get the blender going. Blend into a fine, thick green purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, then blend again.
• Add the pasta to the still-boiling water, and cook according to directions on the package. Ladle out about a cup of the water to save for finishing the dish, then drain the pasta and return it to the dry pot. Add the kale purée, about 3/4 of the grated cheese and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until all the pasta is well coated and bright green, adding another splash of pasta water if needed so that the sauce is loose and almost creamy in texture. Serve in bowls right away, and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the grated cheese.