Cafe Lula

Last week, my mum and I went out for tea to Strada. I was getting a little worried looking at the menu because I wasn’t in the mood for much of what was on offer (apart from the desserts, hehe). In the end, we both ended up choosing tomato and roasted vegetable rigatoni topped with ricotta and it turned out to be absolutely delicious. We agreed that it needed recreating at home and so I decided to have a go. It turned out ace.

We start out by roasting sliced up aubergine, courgette and red pepper with some shallots and garlic cloves. Once the garlic is gooey, fry it briefly before adding wine and passata to make a yummy tomato sauce. Toss in the vegetables, add the cooked pasta and top with ricotta. What part of that doesn’t sound amazing?

Roasted vegetable and tomato tagliatelle with ricotta

A Cafe Lula recipe (inspired by a Strada recipe)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 aubergine, cut into chunks about 2cm square, 1cm thick

1/2 courgette, cut into 1cm thick strips

1/2 red pepper (bell peppers), cut into 2cm squares

2 shallots, peeled and halved

2 garlic cloves

olive oil

black pepper and salt, to season

dried oregano (two pinches)

a good glug of white wine

400g passata or crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve (use a vegetarian version to make this dish veggie)

a pinch of chilli flakes

a few fresh basil leaves

175g tagliatelle

fresh ricotta (I used about 5 tsp per serving)

Preheat the oven to 200C (390F)/190C (375F) fan oven. Spread the chunks of aubergine, courgette and peppers out over a large baking tray and then place the shallot halves and garlic cloves between them. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper, salt and a pinch of oregano and roast for 15-20 minutes until the garlic cloves are squidgy and the vegetables are softened and starting to brown in places.

Heat a little oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Split the garlic cloves and squeeze the garlic into the oil. Fry briefly, mashing up with a wooden spoon. Add the white wine and simmer gently, being careful not to burn the garlic, until the wine has reduced a bit. Add the passata and season with black pepper, salt, a pinch of oregano and a pinch of chilli flakes. Stir well, then add the roasted shallots, chopping them smaller if you like. Put the other vegetables somewhere to keep warm. Set the pasta cooking.

When the pasta has five minutes left to cook, tip the rest of the vegetables into the sauce, plus a little of the oil they were roasted in, and stir well. When the pasta is ready, drain the pasta, tear the basil leaves up and add to the sauce, then toss in the pasta. Make sure the pasta is well coated. Serve topped with chunks of ricotta and extra parmesan, if you like.