Spicy Roasted Eggplant Marinara Food

ROASTED PEPPER AND EGGPLANT MARINARA

Steps:

• Char the skins of sweet and hot peppers to black under a broiler with oven door slightly ajar, to prevent steam build up or place directly over stovetop flame. Cover the charred peppers and cool, peel, and seed. Reserve.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut head garlic to expose the cloves, dress in extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Press the garlic into the chopped rosemary and coat the cut cloves. Wrap the garlic up in foil and roast 40 to 45 minutes, until soft but still moist.
• Halve the eggplant lengthwise and brush with extra-virgin olive oil. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on baking sheet and roast to very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool the eggplant until easy to handle, then scoop the flesh away from skins and add to a food processor with roasted garlic and roasted sweet and hot peppers, then puree.
• In saucepan, heat the stock and tomatoes. If the tomatoes are whole, break them up. Stir in the eggplant-pepper mixture and add basil and oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste.
• Simmer sauce to combine flavors then cool and store for make-ahead meal.
• Reheat over medium heat.
• Boil long, curly pasta in salted water to al dente, toss the pasta with sauce and serve with cheese and a sprinkle fresh parsley.

SPICY ROASTED EGGPLANT MARINARA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450F. Toss chopped eggplant, garlic and onion with olive oil. Add crushed red pepper (add less than 1 tablespoon if you don't like things super spicy), salt, and ground pepper and toss to coat. Pour into a baking dish lined with foil and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Mash roasted vegetables with a fork. Pour into a large saucepan and add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil and red wine. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours. Serve over pasta. Serves 6-8. This sauce would also be delicious with added spicy Italian sausage, ground turkey or beef, grilled prawns or meatballs!

LOW-CARB ROASTED EGGPLANT MARINARA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
• Dice the two eggplants into approximately one inch cubes. (Peeling the eggplant first is a personal preference; I don't.) Toss the eggplant cubes with 2-4 Tbsp of olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and pop into preheated oven. Roast until eggplant is tender and beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes.
• When eggplant is done roasting, pull out of the oven and top with crushed red pepper (if using), tomato sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. Place back in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown slightly. Serve with salad.