Bucatini with tomato, chargrilled aubergine, olives, chilli and garlic pangrattato

Serves 4

This is a real comfort food dish which goes perfectly with a glass or two of Chianti and a DVD boxset. Enjoy x

For the pangrattato:

• 1 ciabatta loaf, crusts removed
• 3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 100ml of olive oil
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• 1 aubergine, cut lengthways into 1cm slices
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 3 anchovy fillets
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 small leek, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• A few sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 tsp of tomato purée
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• Handful of good black olives, pitted
• Dash of good red wine vinegar
• 2 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, chopped to serve
• 350g bucatini or spaghetti

Make the Pangrattato. Pulse-chop the ciabatta to coarse breadcrumbs. In a pan, heat the oil, add the cloves of garlic and cook until golden brown then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the breadcrumbs to the garlic-infused oil and cook until golden and crispy. Remove and blot on kitchen paper. The pangrattato will keep for weeks in your cupboard in an air-tight container.

Heat a griddle pan on the stove until smoking. Oil and salt the slices of aubergine and chargrill on the griddle getting plenty of colour on them. When done, cut into 1cm size pieces and set aside.

In a pan heat some oil and on a medium heat cook the anchovy fillets until they break up. Add the garlic, celery, onion, leek, carrot, chilli and rosemary and fry slowly on a low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring and making sure it doesn't burn.

Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 10 minutes. Crank up the heat, add the red wine and reduce until syrupy. Add the can of tomatoes and timer gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the aubergine and the olives and add the red wine vinegar. Season.

Cook the bucatini and when al denté, drain (reserving a little of the water) and add to the sauce. Stir in making sure all the pasta is nicely coated and if necessary 'loosen' it up with the pasta water.

Serve in bowls with the pangrattato spinkled on top, some grated parmesan (although pangrattato was originally used by poorer Italian families as a cheaper alternative to Parmesan) some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley and as always, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.