How incredible is this week's share!??! So pretty with those pale green banana peppers, vivid watermelons, and gorgeous eggplant!Last year when we got eggplant in our share, we weren't quite sure what to do with it. The only way I'd ever seen it prepared was in eggplant Parmesan. I needed options people!
So I started researching a few recipes. One of the best I've found was called 'Whole-Wheat Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes' from the Great Food Fast cookbook by Everyday Food. I've made it quite a few times and come up with this variation. It's my husband's favorite way to eat purple food!
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 cups cherry tomatoes, or a few Roma tomatoes roughly chopped
2 small or 1 large zucchini, sliced into bite-sized pieces
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 lb whole-wheat penne pasta
2-3 TBS capers (to taste)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 450. In a medium 9x13 pan, combine the eggplant, onion, tomatoes, zucchini, and oil; Season with salt and pepper, to taste; toss well to coat. Roast about 30 minutes, tossing mixture halfway through.
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package instructions - do not over cook. Reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
3. Add the roasted eggplant mixture, capers, and Parmesan. Toss to coat, add the reserved pasta water, if desired to make a sauce. Serve immediately, sprinkled with more cheese.
Serves 4-6. Total time: 45 minutes.
What about you? How do you enjoy your eggplant?
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Can you please tell me what the small yellow veggies are & the root thingy.
ReplyDeleteThe round yellow ones are lemon cucumbers. They don't really taste lemony, but are named for how they look. The long yellow ones are squash, similar to zucchini. And the root looking thing (green & white) is fennel. This tastes a lot like anise and actually is not a root. Is that what you were referring to?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. How do you use/store the fennel?
ReplyDeleteI store the fennel in the bottom of my fridge, and I've used it fresh (discard the outer leaves and thinly slice the white part) in a salad; the tops (when we get them) go great as a herb in a dressing; and cooked (sauteed or steamed) the licorice/anise flavor mellows out nicely.
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