Penne Rigate with Peppers and Eggplant: In winter, penne are perfect with a thick meat sauce. In the summer, on the other hand, this vegetable sauce will be much more refreshing.
Prep Time: 1 hours, 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 14 ounces (350 g) penne
- 1/4 pound sweet green pitted olives
- 2 ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 2 medium-sized eggplants
- A bunch of basil
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Begin by peeling and slicing the eggplant; salt the slices and set them in a colander in the sink while the slat draws out the bitter juices. Cut the peppers into strips, eliminating the seeds and white ribs as you go. Put them skin-side up and broil them until the skins are blistered, then scrape off and discard the skins. Cut the strips into smaller, thinner strips. Blanch, peel, seed and chop the tomatoes. Sliver the olives. By now an hour will have passed; rinse the eggplant slices, pat them dry, and cut them into strips too.Bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and add the penne. While they're cooking, heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a large skillet and cook the vegetables for 7-8 minutes, stirring them about. Drain the pasta, turn it out into the skillet, stir well over a brisk flame to mix the pasta into the sauce, remove everything from the stove, and shred the basil leaves over it. Serve.
