Baked Rigatoni With Zucchini And Eggplant Food

RIGATONI WITH ZUCCHINI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Boil pasta according to package directions, cooking until just barely tender (a little undercooked is better than overcooked). When it's done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
• While the pasta's cooking, sauté the eggplant, zucchini, onions, bell pepper and garlic in 2 tablespoons water in a nonstick pan over medium heat, adding more water if needed to prevent sticking. When the vegetables are tender, add the reserved pasta cooking water, 1 teaspoons basil, 1 teaspoons oregano, the rosemary, 1 teaspoons salt, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; stir, and keep warm.
• Combine the mashed tofu with the pine nuts, parsley, nutritional yeast, and remaining basil, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir the cooked rigatoni into the tofu.
• Lightly coat a 4-quart casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spread a thin layer of the vegetable mixture over the bottom (you just want a little sauce there to keep the pasta from sticking). Place a layer of half the pasta mixture, then cover with half the sautéed vegetables; repeat layers.
• Cover the casserole and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with soy Parmesan cheese, if you want.
• This is a great dish to serve to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Unfortunately, if you bring it to the Unitarian church in my town, you won't have any leftovers to bring home!

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red
• pepper flakes. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.
• While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables. Roast until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.
• Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.

RIGATONI WITH ITALIAN EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook. Continue stirring until softened, about 3 more minutes.
• Add tomatoes, with liquid, breaking them up with the back of spoon. Stir in wine, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain. Toss pasta with sauce in pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Serve on a large platter and top with grated Romano cheese.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Prepare oven-dried tomatoes:
• Skin the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then plunging them right away in ice water. This will help you remove the skin without cooking the tomatoes. Using a paring knife, peel the skin off the tomatoes and then cut them in 1/2 lengthwise. Place the tomatoes in a bowl, sprinkle with alt and add the thyme and 2 ounces of olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes with the thyme sprigs on a non-reactive baking pan. Leave enough space around the tomato halves so they don't touch, allowing air to circulate and dry them out. Put them in a 300 degree F oven to dry for 2 hours.
• Prepare the garlic:
• Place the garlic cloves in a small pot and cover with 2 cups of olive oil. Simmer very slowly for 40 minutes, until the garlic is soft. Remove them from the oil and set aside at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Prepare the eggplant:
• Slice the eggplant into 1-inch rounds. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Drizzle olive oil over them and toss. Arrange the rounds on a baking pan, leaving enough space between each slice so that they cook evenly. Bake until they are soft and slightly brown, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare the pasta:
• In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of salted water. Add the rigatoni and cook until "al dente" or even slightly undercooked, about 6 to 8 minutes. Since the pasta will be cooked in the oven, it's important not to overcook the pasta in the boiling water. Drain the pasta in a colander and toss with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking. Set aside.
• Assemble and bake dish:
• Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the pasta, eggplant, tomato, garlic, scallion and basil and mix well. Add the ricotta and toss gently so that the ingredients are distributed among the pasta but that the ricotta is not completely mixed through. The idea here is to have distinct and differing flavors, so it is important that the ricotta be spread in roughly tablespoon size pieces. Season, if necessary, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Transfer to a large greased earthenware or glass baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake in the oven until the pasta is brown and crisp on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH ZUCCHINI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of salted water, stirring occsasionally, until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot while preparing the sauce.
• Puree the tomatoes with their juices in a blender or food processor and remove the seeds by passing the puree through a fine strainer placed over the bowl.
• In a large non-stick skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.Add half of the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggplant and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant.
• Remove vegetable oil from skillet and add the olive oil. Over medium heat, saute the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini and onion and saute' for 6 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree, basil, and oregano. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in eggplant and season`with salt and pepper.
• Fold eggplant and zucchini sauce into the rigatoni along with mozzarella and reserved cooking water.
• Transfer the pasta to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.
• Serve the pasta piping hot.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
• Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.
• Turn the heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.
• Add another 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
• By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water. Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

MOZZARELLA BAKED EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Grease a 9" square baking dish.
• Cut the eggplant into 1/2" thick slices. Layer 1/2 of the slices on the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/2 C of the sauce and 1 T of the basil.
• Toss together the Mozz & Parm. Sprinkle 2/3 C of the cheese over the top of the sauce.
• Layer the zucchini over the cheese. Top with 3/4 C of the sauce, 2 T of the basil, and 2/3 C of the cheese.
• Top with remaining eggplant slices and the remaining sauce, basil & cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• Spoon "extra" sauce over servings from bottom of dish.

PASTA WITH EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the garlic. Cook and stir without browning. Add the tomatoes, parsley, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to blend, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile cut off the ends of the eggplant and peel. Cut it into 1-inch cubes.
• Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice into 1-inch thick slices.
• Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is very hot, add the eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until nicely browned and tender. Add to the tomato sauce. Mix well and cook for 15 minutes.
• Drop the pasta into salted boiling water and cook to the desired degree of doneness. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Return the pasta to the pot, add the reserved cooking liquid, the vegetable and sauce mixture, basil and Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve hot.

EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) RIGATONI BAKE

Steps:

• Set oven to 400 degrees.
• Grease a 13 x 9-ich baking dish.
• Brush the eggplant slices with oil.
• Arrange in a single layer in prepared baking dish.
• Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Remove from oven; set aside.
• Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees.
• In a large skillet, stir beef over medium heat to break up the meat, drain any fat.
• Add in zucchini, green pepper, onion and garlic; cook, stirring until the beef is browned.
• Add in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, stirring to break up tomatoes.
• Reduce the heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
• Spoon over eggplant.
• In a bowl, stir together the cooked rigatoni, soup, milk and the Monterey Jack cheese until blended.
• Spoon over the beef mixture.
• Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.
• Cover baking dish with foil.
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes; uncover, and bake for 10 minutes longer.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.
• Oil a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
• Heat a 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.
• Turn the heat down to medium.
• Add 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.
• Add another 3 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, then the onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent.
• Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
• Add the rigatoni to the boiling pasta water, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water.
• Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula until combined.
• Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.