We tried preparing a sugar-free, naturally sweetened muffin and discovered the ideal comfort meal! It’s a wonderful fruity combination, sweetened with orange juice concentrate and blueberries.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 27 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 7 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 2 tablespoons rock salt
- 1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon rock salt
- 1 clove garlic, lightly smashed
- 5 large basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
- 3 ½ tablespoons ricotta salata
- 1 tablespoon diced fresh cayenne pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine eggplant and 2 tablespoons salt in a large bowl with water to cover. Place a plate on top of the eggplant to weigh it down and keep it covered in water for about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse eggplant in cool water. Pat dry and cut into cubes.
- Combine tomato puree, 1 teaspoon rock salt, garlic, and basil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce flavors combine, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute eggplant until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and toss with the tomato-basil sauce; divide into 4 serving bowls. Top with eggplant. Sprinkle 1/4 the ricotta and 1/4 the diced pepper over each bowl.
- Tortiglioni pasta may be substituted for the penne.
- If you can’t find salted ricotta, try Pecorino Toscano or Pecorino Romano.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 356 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 58 g |
| Cholesterol | 7 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 4572 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I really enjoyed this. I added extra garlic and no cayenne. My only downside was peeling all the eggplant. The carmeling of the eggplant gave it a fantastic flavor.
This dish was pretty awesome and tasted just like it did on my last visit to Sicily – Basil and garlic are the stars in this dish. I just omitted the cayenne pepper.
Turned out great – I didn’t have any cheese but was tasty without as well and I didn’t use the pepper. I sautéed some onion and extra garlic for the tomato sauce. Easy and very good.
Not a fan..had much much better