Saturday, December 1, 2012

Rigatoni Con Crema di Melanzane

"Yeah this is good."

And I am back! Sorry about the lack of posts, just a bit of adjusting going on. But all is good so let's have dinner.

I found this recipe on La Cucina Italiana. Rigatoni with Roasted Eggplant Puree. This was delicious. Okay I did not add the garlic but I did add crushed red pepper and a bit of white wine to the eggplant and parsley before I added it to the pasta. Loved the pine nuts, what's not to like. Will we have this again? Yes!

Ingredients -
2 1/4  to 2 1/2 pounds eggplant 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound rigatoni
Freshly grated Grana Padano or Pecorino Toscano cheese

Method - 
Heat oven to 400º with rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut eggplants in half lengthwise; score flesh-sides in a crosshatch pattern with a small sharp knife. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil and season with generous pinch salt and pepper. Arrange eggplant cut-side down on prepared baking sheet and bake, rotating pan once halfway through, until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Transfer baking sheet with roasted eggplant to wire rack. Turn eggplant halves cut-side up; let cool 5 minutes, then scrape eggplant flesh from skins; discard skins. Place flesh in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl; let drain 10 minutes. Discard liquid.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In center of cutting board, mound parsley, pine nuts, garlic and oregano; finely chop together mixture.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add parsley mixture, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes. Stir in eggplant and cook 1 minute more. Remove skillet from heat.

Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente; drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add eggplant mixture and cheese; toss to combine well. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.




What did we have for dinner a year ago?
Leftovers and

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Pasta with Meat Sauce

What did we have for dinner 3 years ago? 

No comments: