Spicy Eggplant Pasta
Author Notes: A hearty, filling, and simple pasta dish that's as crowd pleasing as it is vegetarian friendly. —Gena Hamshaw
Serves: 4 to 6
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2
medium eggplants
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1 1/2
teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
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3
tablespoons olive oil, divided
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1
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
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1
medium onion, chopped
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2
cloves garlic, minced
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2
cups chopped plum tomatoes or one 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
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1
tablespoon fresh oregano, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dry oregano
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2
teaspoons red pepper flakes, plus extra for finishing
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1/4
cup fresh, chopped basil, plus extra for finishing
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1
pound linguine pasta
- Cut the eggplants crosswise into 1-inch thick slices. Lay the slices on a baking sheet, salt them well on both sides, and set aside for half an hour or so.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil over the eggplant, tossing the slices to coat them. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on the baking sheets and roast them until they're tender and browning, about 20 minutes.
- While the eggplant roasts, heat remaining tablespoon of the olive oil on low heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions and the minced garlic and sautée them until onions are soft (8 to 10 minutes). Add the tomatoes, oregano, pepper flakes, and basil. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, till the sauce has thickened up (approximately 10 to 12 minutes). When the eggplant is ready, remove it from the oven, chop it into 1-inch pieces, and add it to the sauce. Continue to simmer gently on very low heat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and gently fold in the sauce. Top the pasta with additional chopped basil and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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Thank you Gena for this marvelous mix of flavors. I'll bump the two teaspoons of pepper to three the next time. I will also peel the eggplant as I found the skin to be slightly bitter. I chose zitti for my pasta and served the pasta and eggplant separately-yum!
Loved this. Just made it and it's a hit. Thanks for sharing
Received an eggplant in my CSA and trying to find something new and different I found this recipe. It is a keeper and will use it again. Just the right amount of heat and made a perfect dinner with a green salad. Thank you
Tried it last night. Got home to no power so had to grill the eggplant outside and fire up the stove the old fashioned way. With a match...
Couldn't find a 14 OZ can of crushed tomato's and wound up using all the 28 OZ can I found but it took it without being too wet. I too cut the pepper in half. My Mexican Wife has a Gringo tongue for spices.
Good recipe! It'll be a regular treat for my pasta loving vegetarian Wife.
this was delicious, 2 tsps of fresh potent red pepper flakes might be too much for some, including myself. i was good with 1tsp.
Woah! This is A LOT of heat so I will likely back off on the 2tsp of red pepper flakes to just 1tsp next time. I added some sun dried tomatoes as well to try to balance out the flavors and served it over Spaghetti Squash rather than pasta. Otherwise it's OK.
Well, I did something wrong. This was terrible. At Step 3, it does not say wash/ remove the salt from the eggplant slices, which is what i would have normally done. The eggplant never browned in the oven, was soft and the dish was a hypertensive nightmare due to very salty taste.
I only slightly seasoned mine. They didn't need rinsing off. I've never removed or washed off salt after something came from the oven....
Oh my goodness! This recipe is AMAZING. It was super easy to make. I would add though that I thought the eggplant ended up a little too salty. Next time I will salt the eggplant the first time but not re-salt as stated in the recipe. I also did what another user suggested and added a little bit of herb goat cheese to my bowl. I can see myself throwing this between some Italian bread, melting mozzarella on it, and adding spinach for a sandwich.
Also, my husband added some pine nuts to his bowl. He really enjoyed it.
I saw this recipe and am going to make it but with zucchini noodles. I was standing in front of the zucchini at the time I was shopping for the recipe.
Made this just now and it's fantastic. It's essentially Pasta alla Amatriciana with roasted egg plant.
Made this for a dinner party last night, added a bit of goats cheese to the bottom of the bowls before serving it, as well as some mushrooms I had in the fridge to the sauce. Everyone had seconds. Was deelish.
Made this tonight for dinner....I know it's supposed to be a Meatless Monday recipe, but since it's Wednesday, I added a little pancetta and a little bit of anchovy paste.......and a splash of white wine..........VERY delicious! Oregano and basil out of my garden!
That's too bad. It'll be great the day people think with their minds and hearts, and not as to what they're "supposed" to do just because someone's declared a day a "meatless" day. Living a vegan lifestyle can be so uplifting -- good for all sentient beings, good for yourself, and good for our earth.
Sorry to sound preachy, but I made the mistake of thinking this was a vegan recipe website. And I'm always in it for the voiceless, including the anchovies and the pigs.
Susan W is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I followed your lead with the anchovy and pancetta. Great combo and added great zing!
Susie, why on earth did you think this was a vegan recipe website?
Okay, as I had THOUGHT I'd clearly explained, I wrote that "I made the mistake of thinking this was a vegan recipe website."
So that's MY "why on earth" for you.
This page's link showed up on one of the many vegan- and animal rights-related websites I occasionally visit, and I can only assume (please don't blame ME, since I'm not the webmaster of whichever site that was) that, since this recipe IS, in fact, VEGAN, that's why it was shared with many others.
It's really not my fault, but I thought the recipe sounded absolutely delicious just as it was published, so I made a comment which -- obviously -- isn't particularly welcome.
I bet your pardon, Adrienne.
Made it, loved it! Used pappardelle and it was very satisfying.
Made it for lunch today, used cayenne pepper instead of flakes, was still delicious!
Made this last night. I like how the eggplant is allowed to be the star in this. I used whole wheat thin spaghetti, and drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil for an addition of lusciousness. Yum. Will make again.
Oh, man! That sounds so wonderful, Gerald! I can't wait to make this, and many thanks to Gena for sharing it for the rest of us.
Gena... Well, unless you use an egg-based pasta, this recipe is VEGAN-friendly If food items are vegetarian, why not go all the way and make them vegan, too?! Easy!
I made this last night and it was very homey and comforting. I used a can of crushed tomatoes, and it did make the sauce a bit thick. Maybe I should have added more water or pasta water to thin it out, but it was still delicious. I also used a brown rice pasta in lieu of linguine, which was a great substitute.
Two thumps !
So good, so easy, and so spicy! Next time, I will only add 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes. And there WILL be a next time. A definite keeper. http://mlgainey.tumblr...
This was really simple and good, though I added a few things that I had on hand. Most impressive was the flavor of the eggplant and that the prep for it was pretty minimal. I'll treat my eggplant to this method again!
Really great, simple, and easy! I added mushrooms too.
Great recipe. I added diced capsicum and mushrooms. The only thing I would change is putting half of the halved plum tomatoes in the pan at the start and then putting the other half towards the end as otherwise they just turn to mush.
This sounds very good.
I like that the eggplant is initially prepared in the oven.
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