Creamy pasta with roasted eggplant, cherry tomato and almond sauce

Use small Italian eggplants with few seeds; with a large standard eggplant, cut out the seeds to avoid spongy, watery, bitter results.

Preheat the oven to 375. Halve the eggplants, rub with a little extra virgin olive oil, lay cut side down and pierce a few times with the tip of a knife.

Roast until very soft and tender, about 20 to 25 minutes, up to 30 or longer depending on size.

Warm the smashed, peeled garlic cloves in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a small skillet.

Add the cherry tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a little basil; cook down 10 to 15 minutes until tender and jammy, then set aside.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, letting it go a few minutes so the cooking water turns starchy.

Let the eggplants cool enough to handle, then scoop out all the flesh with a spoon.

Add the cooked tomatoes (removing one garlic clove), the almonds, a couple pieces of parmigiano and about half a cup of starchy pasta water; no more salt. Blend until smooth.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and extra parm to serve.

Variation: layer it in a roasting pan with ricotta and a little burrata and bake for a few minutes.