Pasta with Eggplant, Cherry Tomato and Olive Sauce

Sunday was another one of those magical WDC days, in my book. There was something about the air pressure that almost defeated my I-had-too-much-fun-last-night-and-am-now-suffering feeling. Almost.

My husband assured me that what I really needed to get rid of that feeling was a fifty mile bike ride, naturally. We set out obnoxiously later than planned (I wouldn’t trade a night with out-of-town friends for an early start, don’t get me wrong) and it took about 30 miles to feel like I wasn’t going to fall off of the bike. But what a gorgeous ride. We made it almost to Sugarloaf , but turned around just short of it.

In hindsight, it’s sort of hilarious how self-assured I was feeling at mile 45. Because at mile 46 I was ready to vote Republican if it would have made the ride end any sooner (OK, OK, it wasn’t that bad...).

We slurped ourselves home and tried to sort out dinner. We had had plans to go out, to enjoy the oddly cool evening weather, but we were not ready for prime time. I think I was drooling on myself, and husband was not much better.

Having raided my parent’s garden earlier in the day, I had handfuls of cherry tomatoes at my disposal. This sauce was easy, and tasted even better the next day.

Pasta with Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

½ lb pasta
1 TB olive oil
½ onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggplants, chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
2-3 c cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1-2 c water
¼ c Kalamata olives, chopped
2 TB tomato paste
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 handful basil
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions, in salted water. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, add olive oil to a skillet that has been heated over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, about four minutes.

Add eggplant and about 1 c water to skillet. Combine well. Cook covered, over medium heat, until eggplant is softened. Stir periodically to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom. Add more water as needed.

Uncover, and add tomatoes to mixture and cook until tomatoes are softened, about 3 minutes. Add olives, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Prior to serving, add basil. Heat from sauce will wilt basil. Serve with cheese on the side. Serves 4.