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:

1. Heat oven to 450° F.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Add the thyme or oregano and toss to combine.
6. 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.