Chunky Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Submitted by Catherine B.

"I was looking for a way to use veggies from our CSA basket & this sauce is now a favorite at our house. I clipped the adapted recipe from the Denver Post (Aug 2017) with this description: Chef Micol Negrin, the founder of the Rustico Cooking school in New York, featured this dish in her 2002 cookbook “Rustico,” a celebratory tutorial of the cooking of each of Italy’s 20 regions."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 12 ounces eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch by 3 inch strips
• 2 tablespoons course kosher salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 lb fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
• 12 basil leaves, torn
• 1 lb dry pasta (bucatini, penne, or orecchiette)
• 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄2 cup dry red wine (optional)

directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add the eggplant to the saute pan, plus 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and the pepper. Partially cover and cook for 25 minutes, stirring often, or until soft, allowing the liquid from the lid to drip into the eggplant.
3. Use a fork to crush the eggplant in the pan to a chunky consistency, then add the tomatoes and oregano. Increase the heat to medium, cook uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick. The cooking time will vary depending on how juicy your tomatoes are.
4. Stir in the basil and keep the sauce warm.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta with salt according to package directions. Drain, but reserve 1/2 cup of pasta liquid.
6. Add the drained pasta to the sauce in the pan and add just enough of the reserved, hot pasta water (or red wine) to create a sauce that coats the pasta. Taste and add salt and pepper and oregano as needed.
7. Serve hot with grated Parmesan.