Baked Rigatoni With Roasted Eggplant And Tomato Recipes

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season aggressively with salt. Add the rigatoni and cook 3 minutes less than the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Toss the eggplant and tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on the baking sheet and roast until the eggplant is golden brown and tomatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)
• Toss the rigatoni with the eggplant, tomatoes, about 1/4 cup pasta water and the marinara sauce in a large bowl. If it looks dry, add the remaining pasta water. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella.
• Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish and top with the remaining cup mozzarella and the Parmesan and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (Turn the broiler on at the end if you want the cheese to brown more.) Garnish with additional Parmesan and the chopped basil and serve.

CHEESY EGGPLANT AND RIGATONI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rigatoni according to package instructions but keep it slightly more al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain and rinse pasta under cold water, and transfer to a large bowl while you cook the eggplant.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium. Add half the eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until golden brown on all sides, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the rigatoni. Repeat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and remaining eggplant and transfer to the bowl.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water, adding up to 1 1/2 cups as needed to create a silky sauce.
• If the skillet is large enough, add the rigatoni and eggplant mixture, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil and toss to coat. Otherwise, add the tomato sauce, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil to the large bowl with the rigatoni and eggplant, toss to coat and then return to the skillet or transfer to a greased baking dish.
• Top with remaining 3 cups mozzarella and bake until the sauce is bubbling on the sides and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Top with grated ricotta salata and torn fresh basil to serve.

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the diced eggplant in the hot oil, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the red pepper and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, and bring to a simmer; season with fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the tomatoes have reduced slightly, about 15 minutes.
• bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil; stir in the rigatoni and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
• Stir the eggplant mixture into the pasta along with the basil and olives. Spoon the tomato sauce overtop to serve.

TOMATO EGGPLANT BAKE

Steps:

• Place eggplant slices in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with salt and toss. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. , Preheat oven to 450°. Layer eggplant, tomato and onion in a lightly greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with basil. Cover and bake 20 minutes. , Toss bread crumbs and remaining butter. Arrange mozzarella cheese over vegetables; sprinkle with crumb mixture and Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.
• Oil a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
• Heat a 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.
• Turn the heat down to medium.
• Add 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.
• Add another 3 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, then the onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent.
• Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
• Add the rigatoni to the boiling pasta water, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water.
• Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula until combined.
• Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

RIGATONI WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Toss tomatoes, garlic, oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper together in a 9x13-inch metal baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven until tomatoes are shriveled, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in navy beans, and return to the oven to heat through, about 5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Toast bread crumbs in the hot butter, stirring often, until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• At the same time, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Add tomato mixture, 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese, and parsley, tossing to coat. Serve sprinkled with bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH ZUCCHINI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of salted water, stirring occsasionally, until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot while preparing the sauce.
• Puree the tomatoes with their juices in a blender or food processor and remove the seeds by passing the puree through a fine strainer placed over the bowl.
• In a large non-stick skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.Add half of the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggplant and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant.
• Remove vegetable oil from skillet and add the olive oil. Over medium heat, saute the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini and onion and saute' for 6 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree, basil, and oregano. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in eggplant and season`with salt and pepper.
• Fold eggplant and zucchini sauce into the rigatoni along with mozzarella and reserved cooking water.
• Transfer the pasta to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.
• Serve the pasta piping hot.

RIGATONI WITH TOMATO, EGGPLANT, & RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Warm 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion, cover, and cook until tender: about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, red pepper, and garlic, cover, and cook for a futher 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, reduce the heat, and cook slowly, uncovered, until the excess liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick and puree-like (about 20-25 minutes). Season to taste with salt and black pepper and keep warm.
• Pour 4 1/2 quarts of water into a large pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Drop in the pasta, give it a quick stir, then let the water boil steadily until the pasta is al dente: tender but not soft right through. Bite a piece to check.
• Drain the pasta but leave some water clinging to it, and return it to the hot pan with the remaining olive oil and a good seasoning of salt and black pepper. Toss the pasta to coat it with the oil.
• Pour in the sauce and toss the pasta once more. Serve at once, with flakes of Parmesan if desired, and basil leaves to garnish.

RIGATONI WITH EGGPLANT, TOMATO, AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Fill a 5-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil for pasta.
• Chop onion and cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Mince garlic. In a large deep heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add eggplant and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until eggplant is lightly browned.
• Add 1/2 cup water to eggplant mixture and cook, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, adding more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if mixture becomes dry, until eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice and simmer, stirring vigorously to break up tomatoes, 5 minutes, or until mixture has a sauce-like consistency. Stir in garlic and basil and season with salt.
• While sauce is simmering, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente and drain well in a colander. Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat.
• Divide pasta between 2 bowls and serve with dollops of ricotta on top.