Hi my beautiful cats! I hope you are well. Recently, I haven’t been much active here and there are many reasons:

• Since December, I’ve had an on-and-off cold: it seemed I got rid of it 2 weeks ago, but it came back with a vengeance. Definitely, it doesn’t help that at work we are still without heating and we are passing these bugs around with my colleagues, like playing tennis with the cold;
• Despite taking all of my “concoctions” (from tea with turmeric and black pepper, to oregano oil and apple cider vinegar) I can’t quite shake this cold off and I am currently on day 4 of antibiotics – before this, I hadn’t needed antibiotics, for years;
• I have let the current world events deteriorate my mental health: I am struggling to understand the people defending the criminal actions of the Israeli government and I am really losing hope in the human species. All the NATO/Russia is also not helping.

However, here I am today with some comfort food – I had a single eggplant waiting to be used in the fridge and this Spicy Eggplant Pasta by ConnoisseurusVeg was exactly what I needed.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried rigatoni pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed, divided
• 1 medium (1 pound or 450 gram) eggplant, salted if necessary, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving, optional
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving, optional
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander when it’s finished cooking.
2. While the pasta cooks, coat the bottom of a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced eggplant in an even layer. (Notes 1 and 2)
3. Cook the eggplant for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces only once or twice, until they’re browned on multiple sides.
4. Remove the eggplant from the skillet and transfer it to a plate when it’s finished browning.
5. While the eggplant cooks, coat the bottom of a large pot or skillet with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
6. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent, stirring frequently.
7. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
8. Stir in the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, capers, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
9. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and allow it to cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until it thickens up a bit. You can add a splash of water if it becomes too thick.
10. Stir the eggplant into the sauce and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes more, until the sauce very thick and the eggplant is very tender.
11. Add the cooked pasta, parsley and basil to the sauce and stir everything well to distribute the ingredients and wilt the herbs.
12. Remove the pot from heat and season the pasta with additional salt and black pepper to taste.
13. Divide onto plates and serve. Sprinkle with additional parsley and basil, if desired.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx