Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Spaghetti with roasted red and yellow peppers, aubergine and olive stuffed bocconcini

Phew! that was a lot of words for a title. This pasta dish is so versatile - you can toss in any veggie that you fancy and happen to have on hand. It's a hassle free and simple recipe that literally takes minutes to prepare and tastes so good.

Spaghetti with roasted red and yellow peppers, aubergine and olive stuffed bocconcini

I've used what was fresh and easily available at the market on that day. Originally, I planned to make a sauce with these gorgeous green tomatoes that I found. But chickened out at the last moment fearing my toddler would find the green tomatoes too tart. Probably next time around......:)

Nevertheless the dish was simply delicious with each ingredient shining through boldly. Loosely based on a pasta dish - Evelyn's Everything Pasta, that I loved and always got at Cheesecake Factory. I know that CF is not gourmet, but I think the food is pretty decent and they have a sizable number of options for vegetarians. Works for me.

Peppers

The original dish had penne as the pasta, broccoli, eggplants, red and yellow peppers, olives, flat leaf parsley,pine nuts and Parmesan. Feel free to experiment with what ingredients you have on hand. Multitask - cook the pasta while the vegetables are being sauteed or roasted to save on time for a quick week night meal!

Spaghetti with roasted red and yellow peppers, aubergine and olive stuffed bocconcini

Recipe

Difficulty level - Very easy
Cooking time - 30 mins
Serves - Two greedy people

Ingredients

1 pound of spaghetti (Use any pasta that you like)
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 yellow pepper cut into strips
1 medium sized eggplant/aubergine cut into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp of good olive oil
2 tbsps walnuts ( Use pine nuts if you can find them )
1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
1/2 tsp of dried oregano or dried mixed herbs
10 -12 fresh basil leaves roughly torn apart
4 - 5 bocconcini or mozzarella cut into cubes
2 tsp Parmesan cheese grated

Method

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted and rapidly boiling water for 10 -12 minutes, until al dente. Drain and keep aside. Reserve some of the pasta water. You can get this going on the side while you work on veggies.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a heavy skillet or pan and place the eggplant slices in a single layer without overcrowding them. You want them to get brown and crispy on the edges. Do it in batches if you have to, but do not toss all of them in. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Remove and keep aside.
Alternately you can bake/roast the eggplant slices in 425 F oven for . Just brush the slices with olive oil and bake until lightly browned. You could also roast the red and yellow peppers whole. Once the peppers are charred on the outside, remove and place inside a paper bag and allow them to steam. This allows the skin to peel off easily. When cool enough to touch , remove the skin and slice the flesh into strips.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan. Add the garlic and saute till an aroma is given off. Do this on a low flame, you don't want to brown or burn the garlic but just infuse the oil with all of its flavor. Next add the nuts and heat them till they get crunchy. Add the chilly flakes and dried herbs, the red and yellow peppers and saute till the peppers are tender-crisp. Add the roasted eggplant slices.
Finally add the torn basil leaves and mix gently.
Add the pasta and combine with all of the veggies making sure that the oil coats all the strands and the seasoning is distributed evenly.
If you find that the pasta is too dry you can add a tiny amount of the reserved pasta water to moisten it. Just before serving toss in the cubed mozzarella or bocconcini. Grate Parmesan over the pasta and garnish with more fresh basil leaves. Serve hot with crusty garlic bread on the side.

11 comments:

  1. seems like an easy and yum recipe. Shd try it soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my, the veggie addition to your pasta really sounds delicious

    ReplyDelete
  3. excellent pictures...Spaghetti looks delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. wow! yummy dish very tempting and also very colourful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It has all the color and flavor!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a mouthwatering delight. Love the presentation. Thanks for visiting my blog and for the lovely hug. Will be waiting for some more :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Where did you find bocconcini cheese? The pasta looks delicious. I like making pasta with whatever fresh vegetables I find at the market. You use 1 pound pasta for just 2 people? They have got to be very, very hungry! One thing i love in my pasta is zucchini

    ReplyDelete
  8. Purple Foodie,
    I found bocconcini at ABC farms, Pune. They have a whole lot of cheese - like parmesan, mozarella and cheddar. Blue cheese too!
    I guess the portion size part of my brain is warped when making pasta! It definitely feeds two very very hungry ( or greedy) people. Feel free to share amongst more.
    p.s - this tastes good even when eaten as leftovers!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Delicious quick pasta - perfect colors for fall, too. Such pretty photos; I especially love the pepper still life.

    ReplyDelete
  10. lovely click..and great recipe..i just Looovvee pasta..

    ReplyDelete