Sicilian-Style Eggplant Peperoncino

Peel the long eggplant with a peeler in a striped pattern, and cut off the stem end with a knife, shaving it as close as possible. The skin is thin, so you can leave it unpeeled.

Halve the eggplant lengthwise and check its freshness by the amount of seeds. The fewer the seeds, the fresher it is; if there are many seeds or it is bitter, use more salt or soak it in water.

From here, do not use a knife on the halved eggplant. Tear it apart by hand into rough, ragu-like pieces. The uneven surfaces let the flavor soak in and help it cook through more easily.

Transfer the torn eggplant to a tray and sprinkle salt directly on the cut surfaces. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to draw out bitterness while seasoning it at the same time.

Trim off only the core of the garlic and simply crush it rather than mincing it. Separate out the Italian parsley stems and roughly chop the leaves.

Put the crushed garlic and the torn chili pepper (seeds and all) in a frying pan, add olive oil, and heat over low heat until the garlic starts to bubble. Meanwhile, wipe off all the moisture that has come out on the surface of the eggplant.

Once the garlic has released a bit of aroma, add all the eggplant, the star of the dish. Add the Italian parsley stems as well, drawing out their fresh aroma while coating all the eggplant in the oil.

With the pan tilted slightly, cook the eggplant slowly over heat so low it is barely on. It will absorb all the oil at first, but resist adding more. If the garlic looks like it will burn, rest it on top of the eggplant and cook with almost no attention.

Add 1.5% salt to 2L of boiling water and start cooking the thick bronze-die spaghetti. Keep the eggplant over low heat for a few more minutes, turning it over, and once it looks rounded and tender, remove the parsley stems.

Crush the softened garlic to release its aroma fully, and tilt the pan to build the aglio e olio base. Heat the pine nuts in the oil to coat them with a toasty aroma, then add the vinegared capers and sauté lightly to bring out their aroma.

Return the pan to level, coat the eggplant in the base, and add the anchovy paste while keeping the heat low. Never use high heat; think of it as simply melting the anchovy so that each piece of eggplant is coated in its savory depth. Add plenty of Italian parsley and mix, and once the sauce is done, turn off the heat until the pasta is cooked.

Since the anchovy makes it salty, add a little water rather than pasta water to bring the sauce together, then add the cooked pasta and toss. It is oil-based, so just tossing is enough; once the sauce coats the noodles and they move smoothly, plate it.