Penne With Eggplant Olives And Feta Cheese Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, about 4 minutes; transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, adding another 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the garlic is just golden, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the pasta, eggplant and the reserved pasta cooking water to the skillet; cook, tossing, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with the ricotta and basil. Drizzle with olive oil.

Steps:

• Turn on broiler. Bring water to boil for pasta in covered pot.
• Wash and trim the eggplant (do not peel) and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cover broiler pan with aluminum foil and arrange slices on pan. Spray tops of eggplant with pan spray, and broil 2 or 3 inches from source of heat until tops are brown.
• Chop all the onion. Heat a nonstick pan large enough to hold all the sauce ingredients until it is very hot. Reduce heat to medium high, and add oil. Saute the onion until it begins to soften and brown.
• Meanwhile, mince the garlic; chop the tomatoes. Check the eggplant: if it is browned, turn, spray with nonstick spray and continue to broil. It takes about 10 minutes broiling time to cook the eggplant.
• Add the garlic to the onions when they have softened, and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar; reduce heat to low and continue cooking.
• Chop the oregano and thyme, and add to the sauce as it cooks.
• Cook the pasta.
• When the eggplant is ready, cut it into small chunks (about 1 inch) and stir into the sauce.
• Pit the olives, and chop and add to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Wash and chop the parsley.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain and stir in the sauce. Stir in the cheese and parsley, and serve with the bread.

Steps:

• Toss eggplant with salt in a colander set in a large bowl, then let drain, tossing occasionally, 1 hour.
• While eggplant drains, rinse capers in a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Cover capers with water by 2 inches and soak 30 minutes. Drain, then repeat soaking. Drain and rinse capers, then squeeze dry and coarsely chop.
• Roast bell pepper on rack of a gas burner over moderately high heat, turning with tongs, until skin is blackened, about 5 minutes. (Or broil pepper on a broiler pan about 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes.) Transfer to a bowl, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let pepper steam 10 minutes.
• When cool enough to handle, peel pepper and discard seeds, stem, and ribs. Pat pepper dry and purée in a blender until smooth.
• Rinse eggplant and pat dry thoroughly. Heat vegetable oil in a 4-quart pot over high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Fry one third of eggplant, stirring gently, until just golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Fry remaining eggplant in 2 batches, returning oil to 375°F between batches.
• Pulse together olives, basil, mint, parsley, marjoram, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Finely chop remaining garlic clove and cook in olive oil along with anchovy in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until anchovy dissolves and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to moderate and stir in pepper purée, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in olive mixture, capers, and wine and cook, stirring, until wine is evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in eggplant (sauce will be very thick) and remove from heat. Keep warm, covered.
• Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and stir into sauce. Season with salt.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and chefshop.com.

Steps:

• Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with 2 tablespoons oil. Heat remaining 6 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, garlic and crushed pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add eggplant and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; cook until eggplant softens, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Mix in tomatoes with juices, 1/2 cup basil, olives, tomato paste and vinegar. Cover; simmer until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite; drain well. Stir pasta into vegetable mixture. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover dish with foil. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pasta covered until heated through, about 20 minutes (40 minutes if refrigerated). Sprinkle with feta, then 1/2 cup basil.

Steps:

• In large saucepan, saute garlic in 1 Tbl oil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Add wine, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While sauce is simmering, grill chicken and eggplant, brushing them with the remaining 2 Tbl oil, 6-10 minutes or until done, turning once.
• Cut chicken and eggplant into 1 inch pieces and add to tomato mixture. Add basil and oregano. Simmer 10 minutes.
• Cook penne pasta in boiling salted water until aldente, about 15 minutes.
• Top cooked pasta with sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook at a gentle boil until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering. Add the olives, cooking until they start to blister in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, then add in the garlic, lemon zest and red-pepper flakes, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds, then let sit uncovered until the pasta is finished.
• Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain the pasta, then return it to the pot over medium-low heat. Pour in the olive mixture, the lemon juice and ¾ cup pasta water, and stir well for 1 to 2 minutes until the noodles are coated in a smooth, glossy sauce, adding more water if needed. Turn off the heat, stir in the feta and let it soften and melt slightly. Finish with a grind or two of black pepper and a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes, if desired. Season to taste with salt, and serve immediately.