Penne with Eggplant

When we were in Italy we ate pizza and pasta for just about every single meal. But a lot of the pasta was different then what we are used to here. My favorite part of most pasta dishes is the sauce. I really could care less about the pasta. But the pastas we had in Italy didn’t have a ton of sauce. The pasta was just lightly coated in the sauce but it was still super flavorful. And the sauces were different then what we usually make at home.  Cliff had one with broccoli and sausage that he loved, loved, loved and another one with zucchini that he really liked.  I am boring and I pretty much ordered gnocchi everywhere I went!

While we were in Italy both Kelly and Cliff ordered a pasta dish with eggplant. It was so good and we knew we needed to replicate it when we got home. And that is just what we did! Eggplant is not a vegetable that we eat a lot. In fact, I don’t think that I had ever cooked eggplant before. And I have only actually eaten it a handful of times. But we all really liked this dish and we will definitely be making it again. And each time we can eat it we can pretend we are back in Italy!

Here is what you’ll need. Actually, you only need 1 can of tomatoes.

Chop up your eggplant into bite sized pieces. Do not peel.

Saute the eggplant with olive oil

Remove the eggplant and chop up your garlic and onion

Saute until fragrant

Add the crushed tomatoes

Allow to simmer about 15 minutes

Add the eggplant back to the skillet

Add the penne and season to taste

Add in the fresh mozzarella and allow it to almost melt into the pasta

Enjoy with a glass of wine and just imagine you are in Italy!

Source: Inspired by Sorrento!

BLOGROLL