Eggplant Pasta Sauce Recipe
This Eggplant Pasta Sauce combines tender eggplant, juicy tomatoes, garlic, onion, and fresh rosemary with your favorite pasta for a flavorful Italian-inspired meal. Ready in about 30 minutes, this is one of my favorite ways to turn fresh summer eggplant and tomatoes into a hearty vegetarian pasta dish.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound short pasta
- 2 medium eggplants cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 pints (about 24 oz) cherry tomoates or small grape tomaotes
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary keep on stem (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup burrata cheese cut or torn into piece
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves for garnish
- Freshly grated parmigiano for serving
Instructions
- Place eggplant in a microwave safe dish and cover with three paper towels. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Pat to absorb any excess water. Remove and set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and rosemary. Cook one minute to release fragrance. Add eggplant and tomatoes. Cook about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown, slightly charred, and soft. Remove rosemary sprig and discard.
- Meanwhile boil a large pot of water. Add salt to season water and cook pasta until 'al dente' directions. Before straining the pasta reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and set aside.
- As soon as eggplant mixture is done cooking turn off heat, season with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine- tossing in the hot pan. If needed add a little of the pasta water to make more of a sauce.
- Place the pasta on a serving platter and nestle in pieces of the burrata cheese into the warm pasta. Add a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes on top of the pasta and serve warm. Optional: add freshly grated parmigiano cheese. Great as leftovers.
Notes
- Give the eggplant room to brown. Avoid overcrowding the pan so the pieces can develop golden edges instead of steaming.
- Reserve pasta water. The starchy water helps loosen the vegetables and allows the sauce to cling to the pasta.
- Cook the pasta al dente. It will continue to soften slightly when tossed with the hot eggplant and tomato mixture.
- Add the burrata at the end. Nestle it into the warm pasta just before serving so it stays creamy and creates little pockets of cheese throughout the dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 532kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1189IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 3mg
