Baked Ziti With Eggplant Recipes

ZITI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, pepper, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Mix the roasted red peppers into the skillet with the eggplant mixture. Continue cooking until eggplant is the consistency of the rest of the sauce.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place ziti pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 11 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the eggplant and tomato sauce over the cooked ziti.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Open pitas and evenly spread insides with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with paprika, salt and pepper. I like to make a light sprinkling of paprika across each piece. Heat pitas in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Use to scoop up eggplant sauce, or eat separately.

BAKED ZITI WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND BASIL

Steps:

• For the Roasted Eggplant: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place the eggplant cubes on the baking sheet. Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Give it a toss and make sure that the eggplant is distributed evenly on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Be sure to give it a gently toss halfway through the roasting process for even roasting. Set aside to cool.
• Do not turn the oven off.
• For the Pasta: 10-15 minutes before the eggplant is ready, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and ziti. Cook until it is al dente, 8-9 minutes. Drain the pasta, place it in a large bowl. Stir in the tomato-basil sauce.
• Mix together the ricotta and chopped basil in a bowl and set aside.
• To assemble: Spray a large (mine was 9X13) oven-proof casserole dish with vegetable spray, making sure that the sides of the dish is coated with the oil.Place half of the ziti at the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread half of the eggplant cubes evenly on top. Dollop with half of the ricotta-basil mixture and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella.
• Repeat the same steps for the second layer: Spread the rest of the ziti and roasted eggplant evenly as a second layer. Dollop with the rest of the ricotta-basil mixture and sprinkle the top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese on top is browned.
• When ready to serve, sprinkle it with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.

EGGPLANT-ZITI PARMESAN

Steps:

• Place the eggplant slices in a bowl, and sprinkle with salt. Let drain over a bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I like to do this overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook for about 6 minutes, or until almost tender. It will cook the rest of the way in the oven. Drain. Mix together the ricotta cheese and eggs in a small bowl. Stir in half of the mozzarella cheese and Pecorino Romano cheese.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange layers of eggplant, cheese, ziti pasta, and more sauce all the way to the top of the pan. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and cheese is lightly browned.

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT, BASIL AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain well and return to the warm pan.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and when it is hot, but not smoking, cook the eggplant slices in batches for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Remove and place on paper towels. Repeat to cook all of the eggplant. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomatoes, basil, red wine, 1 cup of water, sea salt and black pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, until you have a thickened sauce. Stir in the eggplant then add to the pasta and stir well.
• Put the mixture in a large baking dish. Spoon the ricotta on top, sprinkle over the pecorino and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden and crispy around the edges.
• Enjoy!

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. 2. In a medium saucepan, add the eggplant and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes drain. Add the garlic, basil, and parsley stir to combine. Cover and let stand until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.3. Meanwhile, cook the ziti according to package directions, omitting the salt. Drain and keep warm.4. Add the tomato sauce to the eggplant mixture and stir lightly until blended.5. Spread the ziti in the bottom of the prepared baking pan and top with the eggplant mixture. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese melts, about 25 minutes. EXCHANGES1 Starch1 Vegetable1/2 FatNUTRITION FACTSCalories 127 Calories from Fat 17Total Fat 2g Saturated Fat 1gCholesterol 5mgSodium 65mgCarbohydrate 22g Dietary Fiber 2g Sugars 6gProtein 6g

BAKED ZITI WITH EGGPLANT AND RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place eggplant cubes in colander, sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
• Cook ziti in large amounts of boiling salted water until tender; drain. Add butter and toss to coat.
• In large skillet, cook eggplant, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
• In small bowl, blend ricotta cheese, egg and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
• In shallow three quart (3mL) casserole, layer half each: cooked pasta, tomato mixture, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cheese melts.