Penne with Eggplant and Tomato Ragu
with white beans / capers / parmesan cheese
This rustic vegetarian dish takes advantage of fresh eggplant and tomatoes which are often available in abundance at the end of the summer season.
Smarts: If you want to save time and / or want to make a thicker sauce, substitute canned, diced tomatoes instead of fresh in this recipe (use a 14 oz / 397 g can of diced tomatoes for 4 servings).
Ingredients
- Onions, medium - 1, chopped
- Bell peppers, red or yellow - 1, diced
- Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped
- Eggplant - 1, peeled and cubed
- Tomatoes - 1 lb, diced
- Beans, cannellini (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
- Tomato paste - 3 Tbsp
- Oregano, dried - 1 tsp
- Basil, dried - 1 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
- Wine, red - 1/4 cup (sub any type of stock)
- Stock, any type - 1 cup
- Pasta, penne - 10 oz (sub any pasta shape)
- Capers - 1 Tbsp, drained and rinsed
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Cheese, parmesan - 2 oz, grated
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Bell peppers / Garlic - Prep as directed. Combine onions and bell peppers. Store garlic separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Eggplant / Tomatoes - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
- Bring a large stock pot of salted water for the pasta to a boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil, heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and then onions and bell peppers. Saute until vegetables are soft, 4 to 5 minutes.
- To onions and bell peppers, add garlic, tomato paste, dried oregano, dried basil, and red pepper flakes with a pinch of salt. Saute for 1 minute more.
- Add eggplant, tomatoes, red wine, and stock. Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer ragu until eggplant is tender, 8-10 minutes.
- Return to stockpot of water and add pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions, until tender. Drain.
- Return to ragu and and stir in beans, capers, and lemon juice. Simmer for 2 minutes more. Taste and season with some salt and / or a pinch of sugar (sugar can help bring out the natural sweetness in the tomatoes).
- Spoon ragu over pasta. Finish with cheese grated over top. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
34 reviews
Glad we made it with linguine -- seems too liquidy for penne. The sauce tasted fresh, but needed far more flavor. Maybe double the spices? I liked the beans for heft, but was overall just a kind of bland.
0 HelpfulI added squash and zucchini. I didn't think it was blah, but I tasted it before I served it, too. The sauce wasn't super thick, but it worked well with rigatoni (which I had instead of penne). Not bad.
0 Helpful