Eggplant for All; Healthcare for All
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables; you can do so much with it. My favorite way to have eggplant is to bake it until it is slightly crispy. I made the following eggplant pasta dish based on a slight adaptation of a recipe in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle online.
Eggplant and Pasta
Ingredients
½ package of wheat spaghetti (I used wheat angel hair pasta)
1 eggplant, cut lengthwise, about ½ to ¾ and inch thick
Salt as needed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 small box of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar to taste
4-6 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
1. Arrange eggplant on flat surface and sprinkle generously with salt. Set aside for 3o minutes while you make the sauce
2. To make the sauce; warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until they are softened
3. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic and simmer until the tomatoes reduce, 20 to 30 minutes; add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to season
4. Keep the sauce warm while you cook the eggplant
5. Rinse the eggplant in cold water to remove the salt; dry with a paper towel
6. Warm some olive oil in a frying pan; sauté the eggplant in the frying pan until browned on both sides
7. Place the browned eggplant on a baking pan and bake the eggplant in the oven at 400 degrees until the eggplant is crispy
8. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package; once cooked drain the pasta saving a little bit of the cooking water (less than ¼ cup)
9. Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce, adding the saved cooking water to help ingredients adhere
10. Serve the pasta on a platter surrounded by the eggplant slices, sprinkle the basil on the pasta to top off the dish
