Spaghetti esotici con melanzana, peperoni, salsiccia e origano greco (Spaghetti with a fantastic aubergine, pepper, sausage and Greek oregano sauce)

Today, I made a dish my sister cooked for us a long time ago. I remember the dish, as it had an ingredient which is not usually found in Italian sauces and dishes, but just on bruschetta , some salads and dishes which have the expression "Alla Pizzaiola" in their name. The ingredient is oregano, and, the reason why I made this dish is that the postman brought me some special herbs, all the way from the place where, according to ancient Greek mythology, the Gods live: Mount Olympus!

My blog friend Olympia, sent me a package containing a book about the history of Thessaloniki, her city, and four packets containing organic herbs hand picked from Mount Olympus by her friend, who owns a herbalist shop.

I knew there were herbs in the package, as I could smell the fragrant oregano from the doorstep! Sweet scented oregano, grown, picked and dried in the Greek Sun! How could I escape from my memories of evenings spent laying on warm rocks, by the sea, listening to the sound of bouzuky and people laughing, in the distance?




 How could I not miss my very long French plait, and my purple cheesecloth trousers? How could I not remember jumping into a van with a group of neapolitans and making our way to a desterted beach, on Paros, guided by our favourite waiter who wore a wig, through fields of water melons which  lead to Eden? I still have my beautiful silver and mother of pearl earings to remind me of my sunny days!

While the postman made me sign on a little unfriendly electronic pad, using a plastic wand, I was flying over the white and electric blue roofs of a Greek island, dancing with cats and pulling the pony tail of a priest.




 The postman's head became a carousel of glasses full of ice cold retzina, and his hair a forest of fresh figs. I could smell cinnamon, nut filled croissants and Ouzo, with oregano, green tea and dried mint... 

My goodness me! I got totally carried away...   Anna is " In the Sky With Diamonds!"

Thank you, Olympia!

Here is my recipe, by the way!

Spaghetti esotici con melanzana, peperoni, salsiccia e origano greco

(Spaghetti with a fantastic aubergine, pepper, sausage and Greek oregano sauce)

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the sauce:

5-6 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

1/2 aubergine

2 pork sausages

1 large pepper

1 tin tomatoes

plus a few tbsp passata

6-7 olives (optional)

a few basil leaves

1 small tsp of dried oregano

Pecorino Cheese to serve

200g ( 7 oz) spaghetti

MY SALAD:

a generous handful heirloom tomatoes

10-12 Greek olives

80g (3 oz) Feta Cheese diced

1 tsp oregano

Fresh basil

Olive oil

Chilli pepper

(optional)

Another quick and easy recipe! Before you start, dice your pepper (fairly small) and aubergine. Chop your onion, and the discard the skin of the sausages,  as you only need to use the meat in the sausage. Chop the sausage meat fairly small.

I made my sauce in a thick J.O. (Jamie O.) pan, which I love, as it's quite heavy and has a solid base.

I poured a generous amount of Italian olive oil in the pan and heated. This was followed by my chopped onion, which I cooked until lovely and golden. My chopped vegetables followed, with some salt, black pepper and a few fresh basil leaves.

As my vegetables cooked, I could smell the aroma: what a fantastic combination!

I cooked my vegetables until they were beginning to look shiny and kind of translucent. I was now ready to add my fantastic Greek oregano! Just one teaspoon would be enough. As the flavours blended once more, I could smell the Med...  I love that smell!

Anyway, my meat followed ( I bought 97 per cent meat sausages, very nice, but not as good as the fantastic sausages you get in Italy! Sorry!) as I continued to stir. I could see my sauce was going to be quite healthy, as my sausages were extremely meaty and I had not used too much oil! Olive oil is very good for you, as I'm sure you all know!

At this point, I added about four tinned tomatoes and a quarter of a small carton of passata, making sure I crushed the tinned tomatoes to a pulp. You can use a whole tin of tomatoes, crushed, a small carton of passata, or a combination of both, if you like. The choice is yours. Please remember that tinned tomatoes need to be cooked, not just warmed up. They are raw!

OK... so... I cooked my sauce on a medium to low heat for a good 20 minutes, then decided to add a few chopped olives (I didn't add these to my list of ingredients, as they are optional!)

I cooked spaghetti al dente, drained and tossed in the sauce. Needless to say, the aroma was just magnificent!

I served my dish with a sprinkling of Pecorino cheese and a little salad, on the side, 

 made by putting together some gorgeous BIG olives, some Feta cheese, olive oil, pea shoots and, of couse, a small amount of my "Gift from the Gods"... Olympia's oregano!

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