Pasta with Eggplant and Tomato~Almond Pesto November 17, 2023
Posted by Paula Erbay in Uncategorized.add a comment
This colorful pasta is made with sautéed eggplant and mini-heirloom tomatoes. The pesto sauce also includes mini-heirlooms along with basil and almonds. I find using a multi-colored pasta works well with the eggplant. Serves 6-8 as a main course
| QTY/measure | Ingredient | Notes |
| 2 lbs | Eggplant | |
| 1 lb | Pasta | Tagliatelle or Fusilli – preferably multi-colored |
| 1 lb | Mini-heirloom Tomatoes – split use | Substitute with Cherry tomatoes if unavailable |
| 2 oz | Basil, fresh – split use | About ½ of a 4 oz package, use leaves only |
| 3-4 | Garlic cloves | Chopped coarsely |
| 2 oz | Almonds, whole, raw | |
| ¼ C to ½ C | Parmesan, grated or shredded | Plus more to serve |
| Salt & Pepper | To taste and salt for pasta pot | |
| Crushed Red Pepper | To taste and/or to serve with pasta | |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | To sauté eggplant, and may need for pesto |
Preparations:
1. Cut the mini-heirloom tomatoes in half. 10 ounces of the cut tomatoes will be used in the pesto; reserve 6 ounces for finishing the pasta.
2. Use the basil leaves from about 3 stems for the pesto, approximately ½ C packed. Reserve the remaining leaves to finish the pasta.
3. Trim the top and bottom of the eggplant. Cut into round slices, about ½ inch thick, then cut those in half, then about 4-5 slices to create large/fat julienne pieces
Pesto: Place the garlic, 10 oz cut tomatoes, ½ C basil, 2 oz almonds, ¼ C Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Process until smooth – note: the almonds will still have a little crunch, but not large visible pieces. If the pesto seems very thick you can a little extra virgin olive oil; if too thin add more cheese or almonds. Adjust to taste with Salt & Pepper, additional basil, additional cheese. Set aside until the pasta and eggplant is cooked
Eggplant: Heat extra virgin olive oil (the quantity will vary based on your pan and the eggplant itself) on medium-high heat in a large wide bottom sauté pan (one that can hold all of the eggplant plus the cooked pasta later on). Sauté the eggplant, stirring often, until lightly browned and soft. Season with some salt and black pepper (Crushed red pepper is optional).
Note: I sauté the eggplant while the pasta is cooking
Pasta: Cook according to package directions, al dente as it will continue to cook with the eggplant and pesto. Reserve the pasta water as it will be used with the pesto.
Putting it all together: When the eggplant and pasta are done, transfer the cooked pasta into the pan with the eggplant along with about ½ C of pasta water. Toss in all of the pesto sauce, adding additional pasta water as necessary to create your desired consistency. Just before serving toss in the reserved tomato halves and torn basil leaves, you can add additional cheese or red pepper at this point or serve it alongside the pasta
Adding the pesto to the cooked pasta and eggplant, then the final touch of stirring in the reserved cut tomatoes and torn basil leaves.
This is how it turned out with a special Halloween pasta, orange and black pasta (all natural colors, of coarse)
I find using the multi-colored heirloom tomatoes gives the sauce a good color when paired with a colorful pasta and the eggplant.
Recipes by Paula 