Week 1, Recipe 2

Oh boy I have a lot of blogging to do. We are currently moving on to week 2 tonight...all recipes in week 1 have been completed, photographed, and promptly devoured. Now all I have to do is share them with you!

Recipe #2: Penne with tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella.

Total time in kitchen: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

1/2 pound penne (1/2 box) - We used whole grain. It was delish
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant (about 1.25 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt & Pepper
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves -mojito anyone?

1 Cook pasta as it states on the box. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water, return pasta to pot

2 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, tossing, until tomatoes soften, 2-3 minutes more.

3 Add the tomato mixture to the pasta, along with the mozzarella and reserved cooking water, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with mint.

Overall this recipe was really good (with excellent lunch leftovers). Next time I would omit the cheese altogether or maybe try a different cheese like feta. The mozzarella decided it wanted to clump as an entire mass (instead of the 100 cubes P cut it into).