Tomato-basil sauce finds the perfect thing to cling to: bucatini pasta, which is like thick and chewy spaghetti but with a hollow center. The eggplant and zucchini get a special salt treatment before cooking– drawing out their moisture so they get crisp and golden in the hot olive oil. The final touch on this Naples-inspired dish: a creamy dollop of ricotta.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 20 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- One 24-ounce jar tomato-basil sauce, warmed
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 pound bucatini pasta
- 1 1/2 cups fresh ricotta
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Whisk together 1 cup of the tomato sauce with 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl; set aside. Season the eggplant and zucchini generously with salt and let sit in a colander for 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the red pepper flakes and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the vegetables and cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot along with the pasta water and remaining tomato sauce. Toss to coat and divide among 6 bowls. Top with the vegetables, reserved tomato sauce mixture, ricotta and basil.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 568 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 73 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 34 mg |
| Sodium | 822 mg |
Reviews
Absolutely agree with cooking the veggies longer.
At the very least, it took 10 minutes for the veggies to even begin to brown.
Which in turn created my one and only complaint about the finished meal…
The pasta became too soft and almost mushy in the amount of time it took to finish browning the veggies.
I will make this again, but next time I will wait to start the perciatelli until the veggies are nearly browned.
At the very least, it took 10 minutes for the veggies to even begin to brown.
Which in turn created my one and only complaint about the finished meal…
The pasta became too soft and almost mushy in the amount of time it took to finish browning the veggies.
I will make this again, but next time I will wait to start the perciatelli until the veggies are nearly browned.
I didn’t have eggplant, but had a fridge drawer full of zucchini and squash that needed to be used up tonight and using squash instead of eggplant worked well. I also used 5 cloves of garlic paper thin .
This recipe is really good and is definitely one to add into the rotation for a comfort food night.
I will make this again, but next time I’ll wait to start the perciatelli until the veggies are nearly browned.
Zucchini and eggplant usually take longer than 5 minutes to cook! You should also consider adding the pasta to the pan with the veggies, and maybe adding the water at the end (with the veggies).