This chunky eggplant and zucchini pasta is quick to make in just 30 minutes and features hearty vegetables that are roasted to bring out maximum flavour.
You can make this vegan pasta dish year-round but it’s best in the summer when these versatile vegetables are cheap and abundant.
If you plant zucchini and eggplant in your garden then you probably know the struggle to find new and delicious recipes to use all the fruit from these productive plants!
While zucchini is always great for vegan zoodles recipes, I like to roast eggplant to concentrate the flavour and give it a bit of delicious caramelization.
Zucchini is also great roasted so just throw them both on the pan together and let the oven take care of the rest!
Tossed with tomato sauce, roasted vegetables make a great addition to pasta for an easy, hearty and veggie-packed meal!
Do you need to salt eggplant before cooking?
No! This is such an old wives’ tale!
Did you know that eggplants are called eggplants because they used to be white and look like, er … eggs?
Well they did and they also used to be bitter. So people would salt them to draw the bitterness out.
Since then the bitterness of eggplants has been breed out and they are ready to use as-is. So No need to waste half an hour salting your eggplant!
For delicious roasted eggplant just toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and pop it in the oven.
How to make roasted eggplant and zucchini pasta
So it started by chopping your zucchini and eggplant into chunks, tossing them in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and allowing them to roast in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by frying off some onions and garlic. To add even more veggies, I like to toss in a few chopped tomatoes.
The best tomato for sauce is Roma or plum. They have to most flesh and the least water.
I sautee the tomatoes for a few minutes to soften then add a cup and a half of plain tomato sauce.
If you don’t have any fresh herbs for garnish, you can add your favourite dried herb to the sauce as well.
Once the vegetables are roasted, add them to the sauce.
Now the last thing to do is combine your sauce with your cooked pasta.
Don’t be weird and just dump the sauce on top of plain pasta. Put your strained pasta back in the pot and add half the sauce.
Stir it up to coat all the pasta in sauce. Then divide into bowls and top with a couple spoonfuls of the remaining veggie sauce.
Garnish with your favourite fresh herb. I used basil but oregano or parsley would work just as well!
Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 4 Roma or plum tomatoes cored and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) plain tomato sauce
- 14 oz (400 grams) dry pasta
- Your choice of fresh herb for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C.
- Place the chopped eggplant and zucchini on a baking pan and drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Toss with your hands to coat the veggies then place in the oven. (The oven doesn’t need to be fully preheated, just put the pan in and the veggies will start cooking). Roast for 20 – 30 minutes, tossing halfway through until tender and beginning to brown.
- Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onion. Fry until soft and transparent then add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry until soft and beginning to break down – about 5 – 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions.
- When the eggplant and zucchini are done roasting, add them to the pasta sauce.
- Drain the pasta and return it to the empty pot. Add half the sauce and veggies to the pasta and stir to coat the pasta in tomato sauce.
- Divide into serving bowls and top each with a couple spoonfuls of the remaining eggplant and zucchini sauce.
- Garnish with your favourite fresh herb.
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