Plentiful eggplants from one diving trip led me to seek out some new and potentially exciting recipes which feature the purple, spongy vegetable that is always delicious fried and extremely delicious when mixed with the ingredients for this pasta dish which can be found in Rachel Ray’s Big Orange Cookbook. I rarely love meals to the point of closing my eyes and allowing an ‘mmm’ to escape my lips followed by proclamations that ‘this is delicious’ and ‘can you believe how amazing this is?’ and ‘wow, I really like this.’ I tend to take a more critical and humble approach the food that comes from my kitchen, but not on the night of this delicious pasta dish.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Whole Wheat Penne
1/4 cup Olive Oil
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 (15 oz) can Chickpeas
1 med. Eggplant, peeled and chopped
2 tsps. Ground Cumin
2 tsps. Ground Coriander
Black Pepper
1 cup Broth
1/4 cup Tahini paste
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup fresh Parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts or soy nuts mixed with sunflower seeds
Directions:
Bring large pot of water to boil and prepare the pasta according to package directions. Be prepared to save 1 ladle-full of pasta water before draining pasta.
While boiling water, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet or wok. Add garlic and red papper, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the chickpeas and eggplant and stir to cover with the garlicky oil. Season this mix with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, then stir in stock (or the liquid from the chickpeas). Cover and cook for 10 minutes until the eggpland is tender. Stir in the tahini paste and lemon juice and transfer to blender or food processor. Process the chickpea and eggplant mixture until almost smooth then transfer back into skillet.
Drain pasta, reserve one ladle of liquid. Add pasta water to chickpea sauce, then add the pasta and toss with the sauce. Top with parsley and pine nuts and ENJOY!
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