Recipe of the Week
Penne with Provencal eggplant and peppers
Courtesy of
Tim and Anna Green
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Ingredients
2 medium-sized eggplants, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup olive oil
salt
2 medium onions, sliced
3 red, gold, or green sweet peppers, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. dried herbes D’Anna (marjoram, basil, rosemary)
1 lb. penne pasta
1-1/2 cups firmly packed chopped fresh basil
basil garnish
Method
Place eggplant in a shallow baking pan, toss with ½ cup olive oil, sprinkle with salt to taste and bake at 400° until cubes are soft but hold shape (30 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large heavy frying pan. Add onions and sweet peppers; cook over low heat until vegetables are tender and slightly carmelized (35-40 minutes). Stir in garlic, salt and pepper to taste, cook 5 more minutes.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and herbes D’Anna, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk and reserve.
Cook pasta in 4 qts. boiling water until very al dente. Drain and rinse well in cold water; drain again. Diagonally slice each piece of pasta in half. Toss in a large bowl with onion mixture and reserved dressing. Toss eggplant and chopped basil with pasta. Garnish with basil leaves.
Serves 6-8.
