Rigatoni With Beef and Eggplant (Aubergine)

Submitted by Mysterygirl

"A very tasty and easy recipe...I love the mixture of flavors."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3⁄4 lb white mushroom, sliced
• 8 ounces lean ground beef
• 1⁄2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1⁄3 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon thyme
• 1⁄8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomato puree
• 1 lb rigatoni pasta, cooked according to directions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

directions

1. Place eggplant in colander and weight down with plate to drain juices.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and mushrooms, cook, stirring frequently until softened.
3. Add ground beef, breaking up with spoon; cook until browned.
4. Drain well, then transfer to bowl.
5. Add eggplant and broth to same skillet; cover and cook 5 minutes.
6. Uncover; add garlic, salt, thyme and red pepper; cook 2 minutes.
7. Stir in vinegar.
8. Reduce heat to medium; add tomatoes and beef mixture, breaking up tomatoes with spoon.
9. Cover, simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.
10. Toss with rigatoni and parsley.

Reviews

[moxie]

Fabulous combination of flavors and textures. My tomato puree was a little on the bitter side, so I added a little baking soda to balance the acids. Really a great meal, and could easily be done vegetarian.

 

[Eric R.]

This was simply delicious. I've never paired eggplant and balsamic in my cooking. They work very well together!

 

[Smokey Garguillo]

I have made this recipe again and so I thought I would review it. It could be a little spicier, but I never seem to write it on my notes.<br/>My husband is Italian and I like to make this when the eggplants are plentiful.

 

[Kittencalrecipezazz]

This IS a great combo of flavors, I used two eggplants as I have a huge crop from my garden, and used one large onion and a couple tablespoons fresh garlic, I incresed the red pepper flakes, and used my <a href="/186029">The Best Creole Seasoning!</a> to flavor the ground beef, I also did some amount adjustments and used penne pasta in place of rigatoni! Great recipe, thanks for sharing MG!...Kitten:)

 

[Paula5]

Wow! I made this with sausage instead of ground beef to suit what I had on hand, but stayed true to the recipe otherwise. Great flavor! The balsamic vinegar and the eggplant do miraculous things together. Many thanks!