Last night I was in the mood for a quick and easy supper that was still healthy and tasty. We had a green pepper and a nice-sized eggplant, so I decided to do a pasta.
I started with the eggplant by peeling the skin and cutting it into 1/2 inch cubes. I added 3 Tablespoons of flour to a zip top bag and added the eggplant, shaking it to coat all the pieces. Meanwhile I heated some olive oil, then added the eggplant. After about 10 minutes it had taken on a really crunchy coating (almost meat like) then I seasoned it with salt and red pepper flake.
Once it was cooked through, I removed it from the pot and added more olive oil then added the onion and green pepper. Once softened I added 4 minced cloves of garlic, salt and red pepper flake and cooked it for another 5 minutes. Then I added a bit of tomato paste, deglazed the pan with balsamic vinegar, then added a big can of petite diced tomatoes with their juice. I let that cook down while the past cooked (and adjusted the seasoning).
When the pasta was just shy of al dente I added it to the pasta sauce. Once the sauce had melded with the pasta I added half of the eggplant to the pasta, and topped the portions with the rest. To finish I tore some fresh basil over top, cracked some black pepper and gave it a drizzle of olive oil.
Really tasty meal, and we didn't even miss the meat.