This is one of our standard winter week-night dinners. Warming, hearty and cheesy.
Tomato & Aubergine Pasta Bake
(serves 4)
2 medium aubergine, cut into 2 cm chunks
Salt
Olive oil
1 tblspn dried oregano
2 onions, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 tins of tomatoes
Handful of basil leaves, torn up
350g macaroni
1 large mozzarella ball, grated
Handful of Parmesan cheese
- Place the aubergine chunks in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 30 mins then squeeze in a tea-towel to remove excess moisture. This stage is optional but I think it makes for tastier, crisper aubergine.
- Heat the oven to 200 oC. Spread the aubergine out on a couple of baking trays and toss with a little olive oil, some pepper and the oregano. Roast for 20 mins or so until aubergine is golden and crisp.
- Meanwhile, make a tomato sauce by sautéing the onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Stir in the tomatoes. Cook over a medium-low heat for 30 mins until slightly thickened. Stir in the basil leaves.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water. Drain.
- Stir the tomato sauce and the aubergine through the pasta. Spoon half of the pasta into a oven dish then add half the mozzarella cheese. Spoon the rest of the pasta on top of the first layer and top with the remaining mozzarella and all of the Parmesan.
- Can be cooked straight away at 200 oC for 15 mins or chilled and heated up the next day in 180 oC oven for 40 mins. Either way the cheese should be golden and the sauce should be bubbling around the edges.
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Those crusty edges look completely delish, Wendy. Lovely dish to keep you guys warm.
looks beautiful – must try and convince e that he loves eggplant!
re the salting the eggplant – I had thought it was to reduce the bitterness and the eggplants are less bitter these days but it makes sense to make them less watery for roasting
Nom nom nom. Love the sound of this!
This is another must try recipe! Looks delicious!
i fancy giving that a try, i never seem to have aubergines in my fridge ~ i shall have to buy them more often ~ looks like i would always find something to do with them
i love this snow coming down the page ~ how do you make it do that?
Lucy – The crusty edges are the best.
Johanna – David isn’t a fan of aubergine but he loves this. Think the reason a lot of people salt the aubergine is because they used to be bitter. I just think this makes them tastier and crispier.
Su-Lin – 🙂
Gale – Enjoy!
Pippa – The snow is a WordPress option around the festive season. I love it!
Looks delicious. I can never be bothered spending the time to cook pasta bakes and lasagnas but I think i’ll give this one a go.
Hello! I discovered your blog about a month ago – it is so beautiful! I wanted to tell you that I made this dish last night and my husband and I both loved it! We are vegetarians and it can be hard to find casseroles without meat, so this will defintely become a staple at our home. I’m having a small pre-Christmas party this coming weekend and I’m planning to use your recipes for Glogi and Joulutorttu! Thanks for all the great ideas 🙂
I actuall found you on Pinterest. Trying to find a recpie for Oat cakes. I cant seem to find them in your list.
I live near Aberdeen, Washington State. Our weather is about the same here as Scotland. My husband is a piper and my daughters were dancers. My ancesters came from Scotland many generations ago. Ross, Paul, Stewart, MacComb,Sotherland and McGregor but we still try to stay with tradition and teach others about our herritage if they are interested.
Thank you for posting. So nice to come here and visit.
Thank You
Kathryn
That looks and sounds so yummy. 🙂 will have to try this. Thanks
Simon