Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15-18 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Yield: Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound strozapretti pasta (Montebello is great), or spaghetti or linguine
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 1/4 cup fresh thyme or oregano (I like thyme) leaves
- grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions:
- Heat oven to 450° F.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. DON’T POUR ALL WATER OUT! Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Meanwhile, on 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the eggplant, onion, bell pepper, and garlic with the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Roast, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the vegetables are golden brown and very tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, tomatoes, and reserved cooking water to the pasta and cook over medium heat, tossing, until the liquid coats the pasta, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Add the thyme or oregano and toss to combine.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Notes: Add sliced grilled chicken to the top. The first time I made this I forgot to save the pasta water. It was fine. I cooked the tomatoes with the other veggies instead of adding them to the end. It was fine. I forgot to add the oregano and “toss to combine” at the end. I just threw a few oregano leaves on the top. I don’t think it matters, really. It was delicious! Easy, good and enough leftovers for another meal. Original recipe calls for spaghetti, which I don’t like, so I used this excellent strozapretti I found from Whole Foods.
Recipe Origin: Real Simple.