Both supporters and critics of eggplant exist. Even the most fervent anti-eggplant zealot can’t resist this delicious concoction of pasta, pancetta, and spicy eggplant.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ pound pancetta bacon, diced
- 1 eggplant, diced
- 1 (28 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (10.5 ounce) container cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste
- 1 pinch white sugar, or to taste (Optional)
- 1 pinch ground white pepper, or to taste
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta; cook until browned on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; cook until eggplant is slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
- Pour marinara sauce, tomatoes, and wine into the skillet. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic salt, sugar, and white pepper. Stir and cover. Let sauce simmer until flavors combine, about 20 minutes.
- 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; mix with the sauce.
- The sugar may or may not be necessary depending on how sweet your marinara sauce is.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 537 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 81 g |
| Cholesterol | 12 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 1038 mg |
| Sugars | 16 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Easy to assemble and delicious, everyone wants me to make it again. A little extra pancetta added as I had some available.
This was wonderful and so easy! Omitted the garlic salt and white pepper. Put in regular salt and pepper; added fresh onion and garlic. The fresh tomatoes make the difference. Also added regular bacon instead.
i added diced up chicken and shrimp into it. This dish was a big hit with everyone.
Delicious! I added garlic and chopped onion, fresh chopped basil and oregano. I also substituted a can of roasted, diced tomatoes (I like a lot of sauce), topped with Parmesan cheese! I will definitely make it again!
This eggplant sauce was to die for! It one of the best sauce I have ever made. Thanks for sharing
Superb! Hearty and delicious. Perfect heat level. Substituted thick-cut bacon (less salty than standard bacon) for pancetta. Added fresh basil.
Very yummy even though I’m not a fan of eggplant. My grocery store didn’t have pancetta so I substituted bacon and it was fine. I think this would be a great dish with zucchini too. It was a little spicy for those who don’t want it too hot but we loved it.
This was easy to make, and you can do a lot with it! I did cut back on the red pepper flakes, and it was still on the spicy side for us. This is definitely a keeper!
Forgot to mention that I added some sauteed red bell peppers, mushrooms and at the end, a little baby spinach. All things I had in the fridge that needed to be used up. I also used low sodium tomato basil sauce, but salted the pasta, and it was perfect.
This is a very good recipe. I might add some oregano and Worcestershire sauce to the tomato sauce next time to make the flavors have a little more depth.
Took the advice of another reviewer and added the juice of half a lemon at the end of the simmer. Did not have white pepper, but it’s plenty spicy without. Substituted turkey bacon for the pancetta.
Good. I used Canadian bacon & my own homemade sauce. If I make it again probably would cut the red pepper a little. Really spicy.
I thought this was excellent. I used about half the pepper flakes and black pepper called for and used spicy pancetta and it was as hot as I would ever have wanted it. I also used around 34 oz. of sauce. When I mixed in the penne it just didn’t seem saucy enough. I will definitely add this to my regular recipe rotation!
My daughter lives in Rome and I spend a month there every year. So, I’ve eaten some of the world’s best pasta. I’d put this one at the top of the list. I was reluctant to use “store bought” sauce but I can’t imagine home made could have made this dish any better. I used an organic basil pasta sauce, without added junk, from Aldi. Had to use bacon because pancetta wasn’t to be found. Added the red pepper flakes after the bacon was browned the Italian way. . Also used a clove of minced garlic rather than powdered that I sautéed with the eggplant. I will definitely be making this over and over!!
So good! I added minced garlic and shallots before cooking the eggplant and the juice of half a lemon as the sauce was simmering. Really delicious
Great job…
I loved this. I deglazed with the wine before adding the other ingredients.