Roasted Eggplant and Onion Penne - June/00

[Natasha]

I'm still working on the bumper crop of recipes from May and June 2000...
Thumbs up for this pasta! It has roasted eggplants and onions, plus tomatoes, garlic, basil, etc., tossed with penne and topped with two types of cheese (incl. feta). It did need a bit of spicing up, so I added a fair bit of freshly-ground pepper and some green onions, plus more garlic and a bit more onion to begin with. I also tossed in a chopped portobello mushroom. The only thing I'd note is that there is proportionately little pasta compared to the veggies.
More than you ever wanted to know! Anyway, this is a definite repeater.

[MrsReber]

Thanks Natasha, for the review! I must've skipped over that recipe, but I will definitely go back and try it. Sounds great and I have a ton of basil in my garden. I'll take your advice and spice it up some too.

[tuff2000]

We are planning on making this Thursday night. Has anyone else tried it?
TIA

[tuff2000]

BTW, here is the recipe:

Roasted Eggplant and Onion Penne
1 eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices, (about 1 pound)
1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings, (about 1 cup)
cooking spray
8 ounces uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups diced plum tomato (about 1/2 pound)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Place eggplant slices and onion on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and broil for 20 minutes, turning once. Remove from oven; cool. Cut into bite size pieces.

3. While eggplant and onion broil, cook pasta according to package directions omitting salt and fat.

4. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato, basil, salt, and pepper; cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in eggplant and onion, and cook For 5 minutes. Add pasta, stirring well. Divide the pasta mixture evenly among 4 plates, and top with cheeses and pine nuts. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture, 3 tablespoons feta, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, and 1 teaspoon pine nuts).

[Natasha]

Come on guys, I can't be the only one who tried this one! Someone help tuff2000 out, c'mon... :)

tuff2000, thanks for the reminder about this recipe. I'm going to make it again soon! Actually, maybe I'll try it tonight with zucchini instead of the eggplant.

Natasha

[tuff2000]

Hey Natasha! Thank you, you are too sweet:)

Tara

[tuff2000]

Okay, so I am reporting back that we had this dish tonight! I have to say I was definitley pleased with the results. And from the looks of everyone else (smiles and cleaned plates, and even seconds) this was a definite winner in our house. There is not even a trace of leftovers:) Just a note, we decided to use HUNTS diced tomatoes rather than plum tomatoes (we just simply drained the canned ones) and we also used gemelli rather than penne. Overall, I would most definitley make this again. It was delicious:)

[knunes]

I'm glad this got bumped up! I hope to try it soon! Katie

[knunes]

Oh, yum. This was SO delicious. I really really enjoyed it (DH oohed and ahhed too). I found a reduced fat feta that made me feel better about it. I will definitely be making this again. BTW, I used canned diced tomatoes, that I drained. Is that what others did, or did you use fresh diced tomatoes? Katie

[tuff2000]

Katie, we also used canned diced tomatoes (drained). We thought it was delicious:)

[Natasha]

Katie, you asked about the tomatoes used (fresh or canned). I haven't made this in a while so can't remember what I used :o. I guess probably I used fresh but can't say for sure. I didn't end up making this with zucchini last week after all, because I tried a new zucchini pasta recipe instead. Anyway, thanks again for the reminder about this recipe and I'm going to put it on the menu for next week, I think. :) Yum indeed!!

Natasha

[Robyncz]

Does anyone out there have the nutritional info for this recipe? I can't find my 8/2000 magazine to look it up. (I only need the calories, fat, and fiber.)

Thanks!