Quick Pasta with Eggplant & Tomato
Serves 4 | Prep Time 5 | Cook Time 15
Why I Love This Recipe
FEATURING: Eggplant, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil.
This is a really quick & light recipe, perfect for busy summer days! To make it cook faster, and so it is slightly more palatable to the kids, I now often remove the eggplant skin but you don’t have too. If you do, the eggplant does become quite a bit more tender and cooks faster. Feel free to add chopped pitted olives- we just rarely do nowadays!
FYI- no need to salt and drain the eggplant we grow at the farm- it is not bitter at all!
Ingredients You’ll Need
500g pasta of your choice (penne, rigatoni, farfelle, spaghetti, etc.), uncooked
1 Italian eggplant, about 2 lbs (1 kg), skin removed and cubed into 1/2 inch cubes or smaller
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 chopped onions (fresh or storage)
1-2 chopped garlic cloves
4 tomatoes, chopped (approx. 4 cups)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook for 9-12 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 1 minute. Raise heat to medium-high and add tomatoes and vinegar. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Stir in eggplant, (olives if using), oregano and basil and cook until flavours are combined and sauce is thick, another 5-10 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
Toss pasta with sauce. Serve.