Farfalle with Eggplant Marinara Sauce

Dear All,

I have been experimenting a lot with different sauces and dips which can be used with pastas and pizzas. So stay tuned as lots of different pasta recipes will be coming up in next few weeks. One such successfull experiment was Rachel Ray's Eggplant Marinara Sauce. Initially I was little skeptical about this sauce as eggplant in a pasta sauce? I have  prepared curries using eggplant but never a sauce! Some googling and i landed on Pavani's version of eggplant pasta sauce, with such grt reviews I had to give it a try! Pasta are really easy, quick and extremely versatile in nature. You can have them baked, boiled and even rooasted! I love to prepare my pasta sauce at home, even if it takes 15 to 20 mins more, i think its totally worth it!

Most of the pasta sauces you can prepare in advance and freeze them, later on use them whenever required. I like to freeze my basic tomato sauce as it works well with both pizza and pasta and its a real life savior when I come back from long day of work! I also love to add pasta to my soups which makes them more healthier and fulfilling! The best part of pastas is that they are one pot meals extremely easy and no compromise on health and taste!

This is off to Presto Pasta Nights guest hosted this week by Rachel of The Crispy Cook an event started by Ruth Daniels of Once Upon A Feast

My Version of Eggplant Marinara Sauce:
For Roasting: 
2 big eggplants
2 medium tomatoes chopped
Salt and Pepper to drizzle


For Sauce:
1 can crushed tomatoes or 3 medium tomatoes finely chopped
1 red jalapeno, finely chopped
2 medium red onions finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika flakes(optional)
Salt and Pepper as per taste
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)


Pasta:
2 cups farfalle pasta
4 cups water
1 tsp oil
1 tsp salt

Procedure:

• Cook the pasta with water, oil and salt. Drain and keep aside.
  
• Slice the eggplants into halves, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Roast the eggplants at 200 degrees C for about 45 mins, until tender and golden brown.
  
• Half way through, spread the chopped tomatoes besides the eggplants on the same baking dish, sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper too.
• At the end of 45 mins both eggplants and tomatoes will be roasted. Remove and keep aside to cool. Mash them nicely using your hands or a fork.
  
• In a pan or skillet, heat a tbsp of olive oil, add in onions and jalapenos. Saute them for 3 to 4 mins until soft. Now add in the crushed tomatoes, mashed and roasted eggplants and tomato mixture. Mix well.
• Add in vinegar and season with salt and pepper if required.I also added 1 tsp of paprika flakes to give a spicy kick.
  
• Cook the sauce for 15 to 20 mins on slow-medium heat, until everything is well blended.
• Finally add in freshly chopped parsley and serve hot with pasta.