About Fileja alla Tropeana
Fileja alla Tropeana, a vegetarian pasta recipe from Calabria, features a colorful and fragrant sauce of zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and red Tropea onion, with a touch of peperoncino for a bit of heat.
In Calabria and most of Southern Italy, vegetable-based pasta dishes are especially popular in summer, when the heat makes heavier meat sauces less appetizing. Calabrians typically enjoy fileja Tropeana as a 'first course' or primo, but it also makes a delightful lunch or light weeknight meal.
The city of Tropea is also famous for its sweet red onions, known as Tropea onions. These onions were introduced to Calabria by the Greeks, who had discovered them through the Assyrians and Babylonians.
Fileja is a typical Calabrian pasta, often coming to mind when Italians think of Calabrian pasta. It resembles homemade fusilli but is more elongated, thicker, and larger. Fileja is made with only warm water, a pinch of salt, and durum wheat semolina flour.
This pasta recipe is quite simple.
Ingredients:
- 3 zucchini
- 1-2 eggplants
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ½ Tropea onion (or red onion) peeled and finely sliced
- 30 g Parmigiano Reggiano grated
- 3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- salt for the pasta and to taste
- 1 handful basil leaves chopped
- ½ red chili (peperoncino) chopped (or chili paste) or 1 teaspoon dried flakes
Instructions:
1. Wash and trim the zucchini and eggplant, then cut them into small chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. If using a peperoncino, remove the seeds and chop it into very small pieces.
2. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt when it starts boiling, then bring it to a boil again.
3. In a frying pan or skillet, carefully fry the finely chopped onion in olive oil (don't burn it).
4. Add the zucchini and eggplant, sautéing over medium heat until they begin to soften slightly.Add the halved cherry tomatoes and finely chopped chili. Continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, ensuring the vegetables remain crunchy.
Finally, add a handful of chopped basil.
Cook the fileja al dente according to the packet instructions in the boiling salted water. When the pasta is ready, save some of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and add it to the pan with the sauce.
Stir the pasta and sauce together on the stove, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water and some grated Parmigiano cheese.
Serve hot with extra grated Parmigiano as desired.
Buon appetito!
