Pesto & Eggplant Rigatoni Pasta Recipe
Who says eggplant has to be boring? As a pasta lover, I am happy you stumbled upon this speedy weeknight recipe. My pesto & eggplant rigatoni pasta recipe is incredibly versatile and requires very little prep work upfront.
The best part of the pesto & eggplant rigatoni recipe is that you can swap out a lot of the ingredients. Feel in the mood for linguine instead of rigatoni? Go for it! Want to substitute for sun-dried tomato pesto as opposed to basil pesto? Awesome idea.
Below is a list of potential brands of pesto that you could use:
Buitoni Pesto with Basil (7oz)
Barilla Rustic Basil Pesto (6.5oz)
Filippo Berio Classic Pesto (6.7oz)
As for the eggplant (also known as aubergine), there are many different types that you could use. Italian eggplants are the best for this recipe, although they are smaller. If you want to use a regular eggplant, one is more than enough.
TIP: For a more crispy finish, sprinkle salt evenly on the eggplant cubes and leave them to sit for 10 minutes. This will draw out the excess moisture which you can pat dry with a paper towel. After this step is complete, season with pepper, Italian seasoning, and olive oil as needed.
When you’re cooking the dish, ALWAYS REMEMBER to save the pasta water! It’s like a magic potion that adds the perfect finishing touch to a pasta sauce. Even if it’s one spoonful, the starch from the water acts as a binder for the sauce.
Pesto & Eggplant Rigatoni Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Italian Eggplants
- 3-4 Garlic cloves
- 1-2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Servings Rigatoni or your favorite type of pasta
- 1-2 tbsp Pesto sauce *you can use pre-prepared pesto if you're in a hurry
- ¼ White onion *chopped finely
- pinch salt *add to taste
- pinch black pepper
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Parmesan *As much or as little as you want!
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 °F (190 °C) for about 10-15 minutes.
- While the oven is preheating, cut the eggplants into small bitesize cubes and lay out flat on a baking sheet in one layer.
- Season the eggplant generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Drizzle some good quality olive oil and ensure the cubes are evenly coated.
- Once the oven is pre-heated, place the baking sheet with the eggplant cubes in the middle rack and roast for about 20 minutes or until the cubes turn a light golden brown color.
- After the eggplant cubes are well-roasted, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Bring water in a saucepan to a boil and add in the rigatoni. Cook according to the directions on the packet. (9-11 minutes should suffice)
- While the pasta is cooking, finely chop some onion and mince the garlic cloves.
- Heat up a shallow frying pan with some olive oil on a medium flame.
- When the pan is hot, toss in your onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add in the minced garlic and stir in for 15-20 seconds. Be careful as garlic burns quite easily.
- Spoon in some dollops of pesto from your favorite brand and mix in on a lower flame to ensure nothing sticks to the pan or burns.
- Check in on your pasta and if it is al dente, set aside some of the pasta water in a separate glass or bowl. Drain the rest of the water using a colander.
- Ladle in the pasta water to the pesto mixture and stir until the sauce is smooth.
- Add in as many eggplant cubes as you want. If you have any leftovers, transfer them to a container and store in the fridge for future use.
- Combine the rigatoni with the pesto sauce until the pasta is even coated and take off the heat.
- Serve with some freshly grated parmesan on top and enjoy!
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