This is my go-to winter dish. It’s filling, creamy and incredibly delicious. I sautéed penne pasta with grilled eggplant and covered both in a sun-dried tomato sauce.
Sun-dried tomatoes add wonderful color to the sauce. You don’t need to add a lot because their flavor is pretty robust and concentrated with an exquisite hint of saltiness. I selected penne pasta because the shape enables the sauce to coat and penetrate the pasta so each bite is extra scrumptious.
1. Info for Eggplant Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Eggplant Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
- 1 eggplant
- 1 pound penne pasta, cooked (save some of the water when draining the pasta)
- 1½ tablespoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 4 tablespoons butter, diced
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk, warm
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- ½ cup olive oil, as needed
- ¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
3. Directions:
- Note for the penne pasta: Cook according to package instructions. When the pasta is cooked (floats to the surface but is still in shape and firm), reserve about ½ cup to 1½ cups of pasta water and drain the pasta (do NOT rinse). Season with a little salt.
- Cooking the eggplant: Trim and slice the eggplant lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels. Brush a flat pan with oil. Add the eggplant slices and cook on both sides until slightly browned. Coarsely chop.
- For the sun-dried tomato sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low; you don’t want it to burn. Add the flour. Keep stirring manually with a whisk for approximately 3 minutes. The flour should absorb the butter and form a paste. Stir well until incorporated and add the milk in 3 stages. Increase the heat and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and reduce the heat to low. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Transfer to a blender and pulse until the color is uniform. Let the sauce rest until it’s time to assemble the dish.
- Assembly: In a large non-stick pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the yellow onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden and fragrant. Add the garlic and cook until golden and fragrant. Add the penne pasta and toss for 2-3 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomato sauce and about ½ cup warm pasta water. If the pasta starts sticking to the bottom, add a little more pasta water. Add the chopped eggplant and turn off the heat. Garnish with the parsley and mix until the pasta is well coated. Add more salt if necessary.
- Serve immediately.
- Bon appétit!