Best 7 Pasta With Roasted Eggplant Ricotta And Basil Recipes

ROASTED EGGPLANT PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Roast eggplant and onions: arrange sliced onions and diced eggplant on a sheet pan and toss with oil, garlic powder, and a generous pinch of salt & pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes - flip halfway through roasting time.
• Cook pasta: bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta as box instructs. I like to cook the noodles until they are al dente in texture! Tip: al dente means "to the tooth" - the pasta should have a bite to it and not be too soft.
• Heat sauce: In a sauce pan, simmer the marinara on low to heat up. Fold in roasted eggplant and onions to sauce when they're finished cooking.
• Serve: Serve pasta noodles with eggplant and marinara sauce, chopped fresh basil, and parmesan cheese!

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Line a sheet tray with foil then brush the foil generously with olive oil.
• Brush a 9X13 inch casserole dish bottom and sides with olive oil and set aside.
• If using Japanese eggplant, trim ends, leave skin on then cut into one-inch chunks and place into a bowl. If using regular eggplant, trim and peel and then cut into chunks. (Try to avoid cooking a really large regular eggplant as they will require salting the cubes and sitting for an hour to remove bitterness.)
• Add ½ cup of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a half teaspoon of pepper to the bowl with the eggplant and toss to coat. Pour out onto the prepared sheet tray and bake for 30 minutes, tossing them with a spatula half way through.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• While eggplant is cooking, in a large skillet, add remaining olive oil and over medium heat, add onions, garlic and the pepper flakes and cook for three minutes.
• Add the cut-up tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the basil, the mint, parsley, sugar, remaining salt, remaining pepper and bring to a slow simmer and cook until the pasta is ready on the next step.
• Add salt to the boiling water and add the ziti and cook short of fully cooked. The pasta needs to be a little chewy as it will cook further in the oven. Save three cups of the pasta water and drain the ziti.
• Place the drained ziti back in the pan and hold.
• Thin the sauce down with a cup or more of the pasta water, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed, then pour over the cooked ziti and stir. Add more pasta water as needed to thin down if too thick.
• Stir in all of the ricotta cheese and the remaining 4 tablespoons of the fresh basil.
• Remove the roasted eggplant from the oven and add to the pasta and sauce and gently stir.
• Pour this mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
• Top with the shredded provolone and Parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes. The top should get browned and crusty and the center soft and creamy with the pasta perfectly cooked.
• Serve immediately.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND BASIL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the raisins, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook about 2 minutes, then cover and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high. Stir in half the eggplant to coat evenly in the oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned in spots, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. (Eggplant should brown and tenderize but still maintain its shape.) Heat another 1/4 cup oil, then add remaining eggplant; season and repeat.
• While the eggplant cooks, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. (You might not use all the pasta water.)
• Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the shallot, pine nuts, capers, garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring frequently, until the shallot is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant, along with the sliced basil and vinegar.
• Strain the soaked raisins, discarding the soaking liquid, then add the raisins to the eggplant mixture and toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. The mixture should taste quite aggressively salty and tangy, but it will mellow when tossed with pasta and ricotta. (Eggplant mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
• Add eggplant mixture, pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss to coat over medium heat until eggplant is warmed, adding extra pasta water if necessary. Divide among shallow bowls, top with ricotta and additional torn basil and serve immediately. Pass with additional olive oil for drizzling, if desired.

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH RICOTTA, MOZZARELLA AND ANCHOVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Season eggplant slices on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange half the eggplant slices in one layer on bottom of dish, overlapping slices slightly. Drizzle or paint eggplant generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper to taste and scatter onion slices evenly over surface.
• With a small spoon, distribute the ricotta in little blobs evenly over surface, then arrange half the smoked mozzarella over the ricotta. Sprinkle with 1 cup grated provolone.
• Make another layer of overlapping slices with remaining seasoned eggplant. Drizzle or paint eggplant generously with olive oil. Top surface evenly with remaining smoked mozzarella and provolone, then sprinkle with Parmesan and pecorino. Arrange anchovy fillets over top and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until eggplant is quite tender when pierced with a fork and top is crisp and golden. (If top seems to be browning too quickly, tent with foil and reduce heat to 350 degrees.) Remove from oven, dust with oregano and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares. The dish is best served at room temperature, not piping hot.

PASTA WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT SAUCE AND RICOTTA SALATA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425°F. Place a large pot of water on to boil.
• Place the eggplant on a cookie sheet. Pour about 1/2 cup EVOO into a dish. Brush the eggplant lightly with the EVOO. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper. Add the garlic to the cookie sheet and dab it with EVOO as well. Roast for 20 minutes or until both the garlic and the eggplant are tender.
• When the water comes to a boil, salt it liberally and add the pasta. Cook the pasta al dente, with a bite to it.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO and the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Place the cooked eggplant and the garlic in a food processor and process it into a smooth paste. Add the eggplant paste to the cooked onions then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Toss with the drained hot pasta and the shredded or torn basil. Top the pasta with lots of crumbled ricotta salata.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATO PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread out eggplant cubes and peppers on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons oil and season well with salt. Roast, turning everything, until eggplant and peppers are very soft and deeply golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in well-salted boiling water until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain.
• Using the large holes of a box grater, grate tomatoes over a large skillet so the pulp falls into the skillet. To do this, hold on to the curved side of the tomato in your hand and slide the cut, flat side across the holes. Stop grating just before you reach the skin.
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomato pulp is reduced by half, then season to taste with salt.
• Add the pasta, capers and butter, if using, to the pan with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, tossing until butter melts and pasta finishes cooking, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and toss in eggplant and cheese, if using.
• Serve pasta drizzled with a little more oil and the herbs.

PASTA ALLA NORMA (EGGPLANT PASTA)

Steps:

• Wash eggplants, cut off the ends, and cut into 1/3-inch slices. Layer eggplant slices in a large bowl, sprinkling coarse salt over each layer. Let sit for at least 2 hours to draw out any bitterness.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook garlic until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic. Add peeled tomatoes and bring to a boil; cook until tomatoes start breaking down, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2/3 of the basil and simmer for another 3 minutes.
• Rinse eggplant slices under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant slices in batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Cut into small cubes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Mix eggplant pieces into the tomato sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Stir in ricotta and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and remaining basil. Mix in drained spaghetti and cook until warm, about 3 minutes.