Alton's Good Eats: Eggplant Pasta and Waffled Roesti

Alton Brown joined us today to share some of his patented "good eats." Get the recipes for his eggplant pasta and waffled roesti below.

Eggplant Pasta
From Good Eats: The Early Years

1 large eggplant, about 1 pound
kosher salt  
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon basil  chiffonade
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

Peel the eggplant, leaving 1 inch of skin at the top and bottom. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. (I would use a mandolin for this.)

Place the eggplant slices on a cooling rack set over the sink and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Wait 15 minutes, flip, sprinkle again, and wait another 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cool water and gently squeeze out excess water. Place on paper towels and pat dry, then cut the slices into 1/4-inch-wide strips so that they resemble linguine.

Heat a 10-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it shimmers, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and toss for 10 seconds. Add the eggplant and toss to coat. Add the tomato and toss for 15 to 20 seconds. Add the cream and toss for another 10 seconds. Finish with the basil and Parmesan. Transfer to a serving dish, top with breadcrumbs, toss, and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Waffled Roesti
From Good Eats: The Early Years

In tinkering with this application over the years we’ve discovered that Roesti cook very nicely in a waffle iron, which is good because that blessed device needed something to keep it from being a uni-tasker ...

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, chilled and grated
4 ounces onions shredded
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
kosher salt  
black pepper freshly ground

1. Combine the potatoes and onions in a salad spinner. Spin for 1 to 2 minutes to remove as much liquid as possible from the mixture.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine this mixture with the oil and divide into 4 equal parts.

3. Heat the oven to 200˚F.

4. Heat a waffle iron on its highest setting.

5. Melt the butter. Brush each side of the heated waffle iron with about 1/2 tablespoon of the melted butter.

6. Add the one part of the potato mixture to the iron and spread into an even layer. Close the iron and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the roesti to a cooling rack and hold in the warm oven. Repeat with remaining portions.

Yield: 4 servings

Courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

^{Photo Credit: Pedro Sousa/Retna}

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