Scialatielli Aum Aum with Eggplants and Fior di Latte
An inviting summer main dish, fragrant and stringy, originating from the island of Capri with a unique flavor, you will fall in love at the first taste! At the table, it is always a guaranteed success!
Recipe of typical Neapolitan cuisine, easy and quick.
In Neapolitan dialect, the expression aumm aumm means hidden, something that must remain secret. In modern times, it has also come to mean something that must be done quickly, in a short time, and indeed this dish is very easy to prepare and is ready in less than half an hour, and can also serve as a single dish.
Variants – This dish is usually prepared with penne, but I assure you that with scialatielli (a type of artisanal fresh pasta of Amalfi origin, widely used in Campania) it is divine, but you can also use penne or paccheri and instead of fior di latte: provolone or mozzarella.
If you love Neapolitan cuisine, click on my Special: “Authentic Neapolitan Cuisine“.
If you are looking for other summer recipes (sweet or savory) click on my: “Summer Special“.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Frying, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Autumn, Ferragosto
- Energy 1,081.01 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 46.84 (g) of which sugars 8.45 (g)
- Proteins 19.09 (g)
- Fat 93.39 (g) of which saturated 19.88 (g)of which unsaturated 52.69 (g)
- Fibers 6.66 (g)
- Sodium 1,285.41 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Scialatielli Aum Aum with Eggplants and Fior di Latte
- 400 g scialatielli (or penne or paccheri)
- 2 black oval eggplants
- 500 g datterino cherry tomatoes (red)
- 250 g fior di latte cheese (preferably from Agerola)
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil (high quality, for the tomato sauce)
- 4 cloves garlic
- to taste basil (plentiful)
- to taste salt
- to taste sunflower seed oil (for frying, I use high oleic sunflower seed oil, with a high smoke point)
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- to taste hot chili pepper (optional)
Tools
- Bowl
- Knife
- Colander
- Pot
- Frying pan with basket
- Thermometer kitchen
- Slotted Spoon
- Paper Towels
Steps for Scialatielli Aum Aum with Eggplants and Fior di Latte
First, wash the eggplants well and cut them into cubes with the skin on.
Then place the eggplants in a colander and sprinkle them with fine salt, with a weight on top, letting them rest for at least half an hour. This way, the eggplants will lose some bitter vegetable liquid (see in the photo below how much bitter liquid they release!).
Finally, rinse them and dry them well with a kitchen cloth or paper towels.
Take a frying pan and pour in plenty of seed oil (I use high oleic sunflower oil, as it maintains the smoke point well, see Shopping Tips at the bottom of the article), then add the diced eggplants and cook them over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. If possible, use a food thermometer and bring the oil to about 355°F and fry them until nicely golden.
When they are cooked, remove the eggplant cubes from the pan with a slotted spoon, trying to eliminate the excess oil, and place them to dry in a bowl with plenty of kitchen paper towels, 2 garlic cloves, salt, and basil (to flavor them well).
In another pan, meanwhile, sauté the chili pepper (optional) with two more garlic cloves (without letting them darken) in 1/3 cup of quality extra virgin olive oil for a couple of minutes.
Then add the fresh cherry tomatoes to the pan, previously washed and halved. Leave just a few whole for the final decoration. Finally, add some torn basil leaves and adjust the salt.
Cook the cherry tomatoes on high heat for about 4 minutes, then lower the heat, cover with a lid, and let them wilt, cooking for about 15 minutes.
When the tomatoes are cooked and have formed a nice sauce, add the eggplants to the pan. Then mix well for a couple of minutes over low heat and turn off the heat, allowing it to rest.
In the meantime, put a pot of salted water on the stove and let it boil.
Then pour in the scialatielli (or the pasta of your choice) and cook them very al dente (draining them a few minutes before the cooking time indicated on the package).
At this point, pour the al dente pasta into the pan with the tomato and eggplant sauce, turn the heat back on to low, and finally, add the fior di latte (preferably from Agerola) cut into small cubes.
Continue to stir until the fior di latte has melted and become nice and stringy.
Finally, turn off the heat and add a nice sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese (optional, but it fits perfectly) and a few more fresh basil leaves and whole cherry tomatoes for garnish.
Serve the Scialatielli Aumm Aumm, hot and stringy.
Shopping Tips!!!
For frying the eggplants, I used this excellent high oleic sunflower seed oil, rich in monounsaturated fatty acids that help maintain normal cholesterol levels in the blood, with a high smoke point, ideal for frying, but for its beneficial nutritional properties (mentioned above) it is also great used, raw.
You can purchase Scialatielli from Gragnano, available on Amazon.
Ideal for frying is this excellent and deep Frying Pot with Basket and Glass Lid 3 l, Stainless Steel.
The food thermometer can be easily found on Amazon: this very useful digital thermometer with probe, ideal for pastries, but also for measuring the temperature of frying and meat in the oven or on the grill.
Or you can also use this simpler digital kitchen thermometer, without a probe: Digital Kitchen Thermometer, with backlight.
All the recommended items can be found on Amazon at a special price.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Why is it preferable to use high oleic sunflower seed oil?
Because high oleic sunflower seed oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties and is useful for reducing cholesterol. Moreover, it has a high smoke point, making it ideal for frying, but for its beneficial nutritional properties (mentioned above) it is also excellent used, raw.
