Eggplant Pasta Pie recipe

My favorites together in 1 dish:  Eggplant and Pasta!  Enjoy!

Baked Pasta with Eggplant
serves 6

• 3 eggplants 
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 14 oz. chopped tomatoes (or 2 cups)
• 14 oz. rigatoni, or penne rigate
• 2 oz. caciocavallo, or pecorino cheese, grated

Thinly slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander for at least 2 hours.  Squeeze lightly to get rid of excess liquid.
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F .

Grease a round cake tin with the unsalted butter; we used one that was 10 inches (23cm) wide and 2 inches (3.5cm) deep. put in 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs and shake and turn the dish so that that they stick to the butter and line the dish.

Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the aubergine slices in batches until lightly colored. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper. Using about three quarters of the eggplant, cover the base and sides of the breadcrumbed tin. Make sure that you overlap the slices so that there are no gaps.
 
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and cook the onion and garlic over a medium heat until soft, but not coloured. Add the tin of tomatoes and season with salt. Cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.

While this is cooking bring a pan of water to the boil, salt well and cook the pasta for 3 minutes less than the packet instructions, so that it is still al dente. Reserve some cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Spoon a layer of the pasta into the aubergine lined tin followed by tomato sauce, a layer of the aubergine and a layer of grated cheese. Repeat with the remaining pasta, tomato sauce, and a final layer of aubergine. Finish with the remaining breadcrumbs to form a coating on the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes and until golden.

Let stand for about 10 minutes. This will allow the dish to firm up.
Put a plate over the top of the tin and holding both the plate and dish firmly, turn both over together so that the Timballo turns out onto the plate. Serve in wedges.
 
(recipe from Georgio Locatelli: Made in Sicily, Fourth Estate, 2011.)

Licking Your Wounds is Beneficial to your Health

"Langue de chien, langue de médecin," the French say: "A dog's tongue is a doctor's tongue."

It is instinctive to put a paper-cut finger in your mouth.  And dogs do the same with their wounds. 

Dog saliva  is relatively clean and full of enzymes, which promote healing.  The first few licks  help to clean away the debris that might be in the wound, and licking cleans  infectious matter from the outside world.  The bacteria in their mouths isn’t too bad, in fact many of them are  actually helpful.  Licking also stimulates blood flow and some other  healing effects.

Cats, sheep, and other animals also lick their wounds.  If you didn’t have hands- you might do the same!

The benefits of moderate wound licking:

The enzymes in dog saliva help destroy the cell walls of dangerous  bacteria.  Lactoferrin and other antibacterial and anti-viral compounds  can also be found in saliva.

Licking a wound delivers protease inhibitors, and growth factors, which promote wound healing.  Opiorphin is a pain reliever.

Finally, when meeting the skin, nitrate compounds in saliva break  down into Nitric Oxide, inhibiting bacterial growth and promoting  healing.

Too much licking:

A good amount of licking can be helpful for small wounds- but never  after surgery, especially if there have been stitches, dogs are likely  to bite and pull them out. 

Conclusion:  for minor wounds licking helps.  There can be minor risks is the creature licking is sick, but for the most part licking is an instinct that assists.

Source:  Assissi Animal Health blog