Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts

Thank you all for your comments and emails – the nerd girl that never fit in is feeling pretty popular right now. :)
I’m looking forward to my next blogging year!

After all that icing – so much it could block one’s arteries just by looking at it – I thought you deserved something fresh and a lot lighter. Pasta + veggies seemed perfect.

Despite the tiny list of ingredients, this is one of the most delicious pasta dishes I have ever tried. Make it, even if you don’t have pine nuts around – it tastes great anyway.

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts

Pasta with eggplant and pine nuts
slightly adapted from here

400g pasta
2 large eggplants
olive oil, for brushing
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a large handful of basil leaves
4 tablespoons pine nuts
fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 4 small limes

Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
Cut each eggplant in half lengthways, then make criss cross cuts on the flesh nearly all the way down to the skin. Brush with olive oil, place in a lightly oiled baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until soft. In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente and toast the pine nuts on a non stick frying pan.Remove the eggplant from the oven and, using a spoon, scrape the flesh out of the skins and place in a bowl. Pour the extra virgin olive oil gradually mixing it with eggplant until you get to a smooth paste. Season it with fleur de sel and pepper
Drain the pasta and mix it with the eggplant to coat it really well. Add the basil , pine nuts and lime juice.

Serves 4

14 comments:

Katerina said...

Looks amazing, I would never have thought you could make this dish so photogenic! This has been bookmarked.

Anonymous said...

Keeping this in mind for next summer. It looks fabulous!

Deborah Dowd said...

I am always looking for meatless dishes since our family does meatless on Friday. I am putting this dish on my menu.

Manggy said...

Wow, one of the most delicious! How can I argue with such a glowing recommendation? I'll be sure to give this a shot when I have eggplant around, Patricia! :)

Sarah said...

LOVE pinenuts with pasta. One of my favorite combos.

Emily Rose said...

this sounds wonderful- I'm so interested in the combination of lime juice and eggplant! thanks for the great recipe!

sunita said...

Yummy! Btw, I have posted something with pine nuts too :-)

Anonymous said...

Lime juice and eggplant sound unique. I bet it was delicious. Beautiful.

Abby said...

A new vegetarian option is always welcome in these frugal times! And the picture of bundled spaghetti is beautiful!

Unknown said...

Looks so creamy, Pat!! Never thought to combine eggplant and pine nuts, now I have a reference.

Anonymous said...

mmmm. i'm very sure this is as delicious as you say it is! who can overlook aubergines and pine nuts??

Patricia Scarpin said...

Katerina, tks for stopping by!
I'm glad you like it!

Julie, thank you!

Deborah, this is a simple yet delicious recipe, I promise! :)

Mark, I'm glad to know my opinion is so respected! ;)
xx

Sarah, I love pine nuts with pasta, too!

Emily Rose, I'm a sucker for all things citrus and limes are really common here.
Thank you!

Sunita, I'll go check it out. :)

Cathy, it was good, indeed! Tks, sweetie!

Abby, I think you are so right!

Arfi, thank you, darling!

Diva, I love anything aubergine!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I almost never think of pasta and eggplant together. Wonder why not -- it's a great idea!

Deborah said...

I was buying an eggplant at the store for a recipe the other day, and the lady that checked me out asked me how to cook eggplant. I didn't really know what to tell her, since I rarely use them, but this sounds like a great way to use them!

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