Zucchini Eggplant Pasta
This flavorful pasta dish can be made meatless by omitting the sausage. It's good either way.
Ingredients
- ½ lb. thin spaghetti or orecchiette cooked and drained
- 2 Tbs. olive oil divided
- ½ lb. sausage crumbled and sautéed
- 1 medium onion cut pole to pole and sliced horizontal
- 2 small zucchinis or part yellow squash halved and quartered
- 1 cup eggplant peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 garlic clove minced, or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. turmeric optional
- 1 cup good quality spaghetti sauce, (I use Rao’s Arrabbiata* )
- 1 cup cheddar or Colby cheese or combination, shredded
- 1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat I Tbs. of the olive oil in a large skillet, add sausage. When brown, remove and drain on paper towel. (Note: I often make this recipe meatless, by leaving out the sausage and the dish is still quite good.)
- Add remaining 1 Tbs. oil to skillet and add onions and sauté till golden. Add the zucchini and eggplant and sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic and turmeric and sauté several minutes more until mixture softens.
- Add spaghetti sauce and cook a few minutes until incorporated.
- Stir in cooked pasta to the skillet.
- Add cheeses to the skillet and stir mixture on low heat to melt the cheese.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper, or dash of hot sauce, if needed. Serves 3-4.
- Arrabbiata, or “angry” sauce, is a spicy Southern Italian sauce made from tomatoes, garlic and crushed red pepper cooked in olive oil. It adds spiciness to pasta, meats, fish and pizza. While it offers a lift to the dish, it is not overly spicy.
