Roasted Eggplant Rigatoni
There always comes this time of year, when I find myself with a few eggplants and
not a whole lot of ideas of what to do with them. This Summer we have been
enjoying the one pan eggplant parmesan from The Kitchn.
Recently I wanted to use eggplant in a dish that could be baked or reheated the next
day for a quick weeknight dinner. In my family the texture of eggplant is a hard sell
but once its roasted and pureed you can’t tell that its eggplant.
This dish fits all of my requirements and it is super delicious. It’s a great dish to
make and then bake the next day. It also reheats really well for lunches the next day.
1 lb Rigatoni Pasta
1 medium Eggplant
1 ½ pint Cherry Tomatoes
3 large cloves of Garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated – divided into ½ cup portions
4 oz Fresh Mozzarella, cubed
½ cup Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper
1 cup pasta water, reserved
Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and lay on a baking sheet with the cherry
tomatoes. Add garlic cloves to the pan as well. Toss the tomatoes, eggplant and
garlic with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
Roast veggies and 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
While the veggies are cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook
the rigatoni for 5 -7 minutes. The rigatoni should be not quite al dente after this
time. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven in the pasta sauce.
When the tomatoes, eggplant and garlic are golden brown remove them from the
baking pan and puree them in a blender until smooth, then add ½ cup of grated
Parmesan cheese and blend until combined.
Once you have a smooth sauce, toss the sauce with the noodles and ½ cup of the
reserved pasta water. You can add additional pasta water a little bit at a time until
you get a consistency that you like. However, this should be a thick sauce since this
dish will be baked. Add the cubed fresh mozzarella mix to combine.
Pour the noodle and sauce mixture into 9x13 baking dish and spread evenly. Top
with the breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese.
At this point you can cover the dish and stick it in the fridge to bake the next day or
you can bake immediately.
Either way, preheat your oven to 350. Bake the dish covered for 15 minutes, then
remove the cover and bake until the top is nicely browned, another 10-15 minutes.