Societi Bistro's Aubergine Fettuccine

A few months ago, seated and perusing the menu at Society Bistro — one of the most fabulous restaurants to ever happen to Cape Town's CBD — my eyes settled on 'Aubergine fettuccine: baked ricotta, chilli, fennel seed, cherry tomatoes.'

I read the line again and thought: 'I want to go to there.'

I have not been able to stop thinking about that dish, so eventually I asked for the recipe. I've never cooked with fennel seeds in a Mediterranean context before, but their subtle flavour goes beautifully with aubergine. I am so delighted with this recipe — and I know you will be too.

At Society Bistro they make their own fettuccine and their own ricotta — I used store-bought, and the result was even better than I remembered, but if you have homemade... Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you.

The recipe is for one serving, because of course that's how they do it in restaurants, so just double or quadripple the quantities according to your needs. (I should just note here that SB did not provide ingredient quantities in the 'Assembly' section, so I just went with my gut.)

Aubergine fettuccine
Serves 1

For the aubergine caviar:
1 aubergine
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
10g fennel seeds
10g dry chilli flakes
1. Cut aubergine  in half lengthways, and score the flesh deeply to form diamond shapes.
2. Drizzle the olive oil and season with salt, pepper, chilli and fennel.
3. Wrap in foil and bake for 1 hour at 150C.
4. Allow to cool, then scoop out the soft cooked flesh.

Assembly:
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100g cherry tomatoes
20g rocket
125g baked ricotta (I mixed mine with some chilli, fennel seeds, salt and pepper, and baked it along with the aubergine)
Fresh chilli, chopped, to taste
1. Warm a large frying-pan and add the olive oil and garlic, and then the caviar.
3. Cook for two minutes on a medium heat, then add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further two minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper and add the blanched pasta to the pan.
5. Add rocket and toss in the pan.
6. Tip onto a serving plate, top with the ricotta and fresh chilli. Grate a little Parmesan on top if you like.

On quite a separate note, I've made it into the top 10 in the SA Blog Awards (Best Food and Wine Blog) this year, and any notions I had about handling the whole affair with a sense of decorum have gone right out the window (thudding violently onto the street, reversed over by a McDonald's delivery van). So all I'm going to say is please vote for me (click on the widget in the top right corner). Pretty please.

PS: You can vote every 24 hours until 17 September — sounds exhausting, I know, but I'm just putting it out there...