I made this delicious eggplant pasta from a recipe in Giulia Melucci’s book, I Loved, I Lost, I Ate Spaghetti. Of course, I ate all the “good stuff” and left very little eggplant in my frozen leftovers. So I found half a tomato, a bag of brown mushrooms (that don’t have much time left), and an open bottle of red wine with just enough for my pasta and a glass to enjoy with dinner. And I got to cooking!
Key Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- Brown Mushrooms
- Tomato
- Garlic
- Red Wine
- Splenda
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Basil
- Eggplant (optional)
- Fresh or Leftover Pasta like mine!
I poured a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat. Then I added half a teaspoon of chopped garlic. I buy the pre-roasted garlic in a bottle from Jewel. It’s wonderful to have on hand. Then I added about 1 1/2 cups of brown mushrooms and let them simmer.
Meanwhile, I crushed half a tomato and poured it into the pan with about 1/4 cup of red wine. Then I added some red pepper flakes and a few pinches of dried oregano and basil to taste. Per author Giulia Melucci’s advice, I added sugar to the mix. She seems to add red wine and a bit of sugar to all her pasta sauce recipes! Instead of using sugar, I added one pack of Splenda. And voila! The perfect compliment to my leftover eggplant pasta. If you’re making yours from scratch and plan to cook eggplant, give yourself more time. Cubed eggplant takes about 40-50 minutes to cook and soften.
Buon Appetito!
Kara
