Eggplant Tomato Rustic Pasta Bake Food

BAKED PASTA WITH TOMATOES AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Make sure your oven is clean!) Place three (6-inch) gratin dishes on a sheet pan and set aside.
• Boil a large pot of water, add a tablespoon of salt, and add the pasta. If you're using one type of pasta, cook it for 1 to 2 minutes less than the directions on the package. If you're using two kinds of pasta, start with the one that cooks longest and add the second later so they finish at the same time. You want the pasta to be quite al dente. Drain.
• Pour the Tomato and Eggplant Soup into a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, the mozzarella, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and toss well. Divide the mixture evenly among the three gratin dishes, dot the tops with the butter, and bake for 10 minutes, until hot and bubbly and the pasta begins to brown. Sprinkle each dish with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Parmesan, bake for another 4 minutes, and serve hot.
• Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a medium (10 to 11-inch) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the eggplant and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Add a little more olive oil if the eggplant is sticking.
• Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pot, add the onions and fennel, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring often. Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, fennel seeds, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Pour the can of whole tomatoes, including the liquid, into a food processor and pulse until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes and the liquid to the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasonings. Serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

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 EGGPLANT, TOMATO & PASTA GRATIN

Steps:

• 1. Cut the eggplants crosswise into thin slices. Arrange in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for about 30 minutes to release the bitter juices. Rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels.
• 2. Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook till tender. Add the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and oregano and bring to boiling. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until well thickened. Add salt and pepper.
• 3. In a large frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil. Working in batches, fry the eggplant slices on both sides until cooked through and lightly golden. Add more oil as necessary. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.
• 4. In a large saucepan or pasta pot bring 12 cups water to boiling. Add pasta. Reduce heat slightly. Boil, stirring occasionally, uncovered, for 14 to 15 minutes, or until al dente. (or follow pkg. directions) drain, add to tomato sauce.
• 5. To assemble, grease a 2 qt. baking dish. Arrange the ingredients in the dish in the following sequence. One third egg plant slices, half tomato pasta sauce, one third eggplant slices, half the mozzarella slices, half tomato sauce, one third eggplant slices, half mozzarella slices.
• 6. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and golden.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread out eggplant cubes and peppers on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons oil and season well with salt. Roast, turning everything, until eggplant and peppers are very soft and deeply golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in well-salted boiling water until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain.
• Using the large holes of a box grater, grate tomatoes over a large skillet so the pulp falls into the skillet. To do this, hold on to the curved side of the tomato in your hand and slide the cut, flat side across the holes. Stop grating just before you reach the skin.
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomato pulp is reduced by half, then season to taste with salt.
• Add the pasta, capers and butter, if using, to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, tossing until butter melts and pasta finishes cooking, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and toss in eggplant and cheese, if using.
• Serve pasta drizzled with a little more oil and the herbs.

EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PASTA

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander and season generously with salt. Fill a 1-gallon plastic bag with water, seal tightly and place over eggplant to weigh down. Let stand for 40 minutes.
• Rinse the salt off the eggplant, and pat dry. Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add eggplant and cook, stirring often, until golden brown on all sides, about 20 minutes.
• Add garlic, tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Stir in the sugar and salt. Simmer until sauce has slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes or longer depending on how juicy your tomatoes are. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the basil and cook 1 minute more. Serve over pasta.

EGGPLANT & TOMATO RUSTIC PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• First! Peel eggplant with a butcher knife; don't be afraid to try new veggies, they LOVE you! I don't worry about peeling it perfectly. I like to leave a bit of the skin on, it looks pretty.
• ~ Slice the eggplant into about 1 1/2 inch slices. Then, cut slices into quarters. Place cut eggplant into large colander a bit at a time sprinkling generously with salt after each layer. This extracts the slight bitter taste. I fill a bowl or large zip lock bag with water and place it on top of the eggplant to help extract the juices. Leave alone for 30-40 minutes.
• ~ Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400̊ . Cut your cherry tomatoes in half. Cut your onion and RBP into pieces as big as the tomatoes.
• ~ Place all veggies except eggplant into a large bowl and drizzle with 1 tsp of EVOO, mix to coat (I've found you need to use less oil when you do it this way). Put on baking sheet and into oven for 15 minutes. Remove, set aside.
• ~ Rinse eggplant under cold running water very well to remove salt. Put them on a kitchen towel, pat to dry. Put eggplant into the same bowl you used for the onion & RBP and drizzle them with a TBSP EVOO, toss to coat. Eggplant soaks up oil so don't use too much! It doesn't need to look evenly coated.
• ~ Spread evenly on baking sheet and cook at 400̊ for 15 minutes. Don't crowd your veggies or they will steam and be soggy. You want to roast them not steam them.
• ~ While eggplant is roasting, boil pasta al dente.
• ~ Put all veggies along with cooked pasta into a casserole dish.
• ~ Roughly chop and then sprinkle all the herbs onto pasta mix.
• ~ Gently toss ingredients around to combine and to coat the dish with oil.
• Drop Ricotta Cheese by spoonfuls onto pasta mix.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

TOMATO EGGPLANT BAKE

Steps:

• Place eggplant slices in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with salt and toss. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. , Preheat oven to 450°. Layer eggplant, tomato and onion in a lightly greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with basil. Cover and bake 20 minutes. , Toss bread crumbs and remaining butter. Arrange mozzarella cheese over vegetables; sprinkle with crumb mixture and Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT TOMATO BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a plastic bag, combine the flour, bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Shake to mix. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and water. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. There should be enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the skillet. Dip the eggplant slices in egg, then place in the bag and shake to coat. Fry the slices in the skillet until golden brown on each side. Remove, and drain on paper towels.
• Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish. Cover with the eggplant slices, then top with more sauce. Mix together the ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese; spread over the eggplant. Spread sauce over the cheese, and top with tomato slices. Cover with more sauce, and spread remaining cheese over the top.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Serve the eggplant tomato bake over pasta.