Hello Meatless Monday! Wanted to kick off the week with this rather humble eggplant and tomato pasta dish.
I found it buried deep inside my recipe box the other week. And haven’t made it in a few years.
It’s like my hand and the paper were running toward each other like long lost lovers. Finally reunited and spinning around hugging.
This dish marries two of my favorite pasta ingredients – eggplant and tomato. No prenup needed. Are you following?
Throw on a little red pepper and some parmesan cheese and you are golden.
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An Easy Weeknight meal
I like how easily this comes together. It also doesn’t have too many ingredients.
This means:
- no eyes darting around the kitchen counter and spice cabinet looking for things.
- no double checking and rereading the recipe because its got too many steps/ingredients
- less chance of forgetting, misreading or incorrectly measuring something
- prolongation of my youth – less gray hair and wrinkle development
If you can relate to any of the above and it’s a weeknight, this might be a good option. 🙂
The hardest part which isn’t that hard really is roasting the eggplant. (And making the fresh pasta if you don’t already have it ready. I cheated this time, since I froze a batch last time I made it.)
Some tips for making this a success-
- For the eggplant, make sure that you don’t use too much oil and just a little salt.
- If it looks like the eggplant soaked up all the oil, it probably did. Eggplant loves oil and when you are roasting it, some of it will come back out. Therefore, it’s important that you mix and flip halfway through
- Go easy on the red pepper if you are sensitive to spicy foods; fresh red pepper can be much spicier than old pepper
- Adding the pasta back to the pot and mixing in the sauce prior to serving allows the pasta to soak up some of the sauce; as a result, your pasta will have more flavor
- Important to not cook the pasta all the way to al dente, otherwise it may overcook once the sauce is added to it
If you are interested in seeing what other pastas I have made, have a look at these pasta recipes!
I also recently got a KitchenAid Pasta Extruder attachment that I have been playing with so more pasta recipes to come.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
In case you missed them, here are some of my other pasta recipes!
Bucatini with Fresh Herbs and Zesty Breadcrumbs
Spaghetti with Pancetta, Kale, and Butternut Squash
Cacio e Pepe (Roman pasta with cheese and pepper)
Fresh Pasta – Fettuccine with Arugula Walnut Pesto
Roasted Sun Gold Tomatoes with Spaghetti, Basil and Parmigiano Reggiano
Mentaiko Pasta with Olive Oil and Shiso
Mentaiko Pasta with Cream, Shiso, and Nori
Japanese Style Macaroni Salad with Bacon, Cucumber, and Red Onion
Japanese Style Macaroni Salad with Tuna
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Inspired by food52
PrintFresh Fettuccine with Roasted Eggplant and Tomato
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: New American
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 14 oz tomatoes (i used canned)
- 4 teaspoons fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (and to garnish)
- 1 pound fresh fettuccine (can also use pappardelle)
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (for serving)
Instructions
- Cut the eggplants in half top to bottom, Then crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
- Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over each eggplant and mix to spread the oil. Spead on a baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and black pepper and roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Mix and turn over at least once about halfway through.
- While the eggplant roasts, add a tablespoon of the olive oil to a large skillet and saute onions for about 4-5 minutes until translucent. Then add garlic and saute another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, oregano, pepper flakes, and basil. Saute on medium for a minute or two and then decrease to low heat and cook another 15 minutes. Stir at least once or twice.
- Once eggplant is roasted, remove it from the oven, and add to the skillet. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until just before al dente. Then drain.
- Add pasta back to the pot and mix in the sauce with heat on low. Allow to sit for a minute, remove from heat and serve.
- Top the pasta with additional chopped basil and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve.
Sounds so delicious! I love eggplant as long as it is cooked very tender. And fresh pasta is so wonderful.
thank you Jason!
This looks like a good one for when all of the tiny eggplants and tomatoes I currently have in the garden ripen! It’s interesting that you worked with frozen fettuccine. I usually dry mine out and use within the week – does it work the same as gnocchi or ravioli that you would snap freeze?
ahh lucky you! ive never made my own gnocchi or ravioli so cant say, but basically as soon as i cut the pasta, i flour it and i put it in a glass air tight container and freeze it. when i want to eat it, it goes straight into hot water and cooks in about 2 minutes
Ah right – that saves cooking time compared to drying it out! But freezing is exactly the same as gnocchi or filled pastas like rav but just freezing on the tray and then later transferring to a container and keeping in the freezer
how does the texture of dried fresh pasta compare to dried pasta you get in stores? can you tell the difference?
I buy Barilla or the blue packet stuff for like $1-3 a packet and you can tell between that. I haven’t bought the more expensive stuff, but we will eat fresh and then whatever is leftover we dry out and there isn’t much difference between fresh and then freshly made dry
good to know, now that you mention it, i’ll need to read up on drying out my fresh pasta! 🙂
Cass and I just hang it over the backs of kitchen cupboards. Although sometimes it does fall off. Probably worth reading up for drying times. When our dogs were little we used to hang on the backs of chairs and put them on the dining table so that they didn’t eat it but they aren’t into the eating everything now! Then store in an air tight container in the morning. I don’t know how long it will last as we usually eat it all within a day or two – that might help in terms of texture too
haha i can just imagine! sounds like you make lots of pasta! 🙂
We go through phases! But prob make once or twice a month. I learnt a tip from Jamie Oliver to buy the fresh egg lasange sheets and cut to fettucine or pappadelle size. That is a good shortcut too when you don’t have the time to make fresh
great tip!
I have never tried cooking with eggplant, but this dish looks fantastic! I think I have found my next meatless Monday dish 🙂
thank you Tyane, please let me know how it turns out ! 🙂
yum!
thank you!