Pasta Autunnale

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Pasta autunnale with roasted eggplant and zucchini, tomatoes and basil by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

Fall has snuck up on me once again. All of a sudden, the days are noticeably shorter, the nights are cooler and our most recent produce box included a big bag of sweet potatoes. The box also contained a lot of other veggies that epitomize the bounty of this harvest time, including yellow cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchinis and basil.

Zucchini by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2009

This simple but delicious dish was inspired by pasta primavera but I've changed the name to pasta autunnale (at least that is how I think one would say "autumn" in Italian) in honor of the late summer/early fall veggies in it.

Roasting the eggplant slices by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

While you could certainly sautee the veggies, I recommend grilling them if you have the means -- the flavors are really delightful that way. And don't skimp on the olive oil, Parmesan cheese or basil!

Pasta autunnale with roasted eggplant and zucchini, tomatoes and basil by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

Happy Fall to you and yours.

-- print recipe --Pasta Autunnale
Serves 6

Ingredients

* 1 lb of pasta, preferably spaghetti, linguine or cappellini
* 1 large or 2 small eggplants
* 2-3 medium-sized zucchinis
* 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
* 1 cup basil leaves, washed and dried
* Parmesan (or Romano) cheese
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil

Directions

1. Wash and dry the eggplant and zucchinis and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, keeping the thickness as uniform as possible. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and the garlic. Add enough oil to coat all the slices.

2. Put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta and then fire up the grill. Grill the veggies (most likely you'll have to do this in batches unless you have a really big grill) over medium heat until soft all the way through. Cook the pasta while you're grilling the veggies.

3. When the pasta is al dente, drain, rinse briefly with cold water and toss with olive oil. Then chop the basil and halve the cherry tomatoes.

4. Place the pasta in a wide, shallow bowl and add the roasted veggies, tomatoes and basil then toss until everything seems evenly distributed. Grate the Parmesan cheese over everything (be liberal with it!), add a few grinds of black pepper and serve.

A few more recipes you might like:
For more delicious recipes, gardening ideas, foraging tips, and food-related inspiration "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Like this recipe? Click here to browse through more Eatwell Recipes.

The Eatwell Project: a year of seasonal recipes -- logo by Eve Fox

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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Pasta Autunnale

Pasta autunnale with roasted eggplant and zucchini, tomatoes and basil by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

Fall has snuck up on me once again. All of a sudden, the days are noticeably shorter, the nights are cooler and our most recent produce box included a big bag of sweet potatoes. The box also contained a lot of other veggies that epitomize the bounty of this harvest time, including yellow cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchinis and basil.

Zucchini by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2009

This simple but delicious dish was inspired by pasta primavera but I've changed the name to pasta autunnale (at least that is how I think one would say "autumn" in Italian) in honor of the late summer/early fall veggies in it.

Roasting the eggplant slices by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

While you could certainly sautee the veggies, I recommend grilling them if you have the means -- the flavors are really delightful that way. And don't skimp on the olive oil, Parmesan cheese or basil!

Pasta autunnale with roasted eggplant and zucchini, tomatoes and basil by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog

Happy Fall to you and yours.

-- print recipe --Pasta Autunnale
Serves 6

Ingredients

* 1 lb of pasta, preferably spaghetti, linguine or cappellini
* 1 large or 2 small eggplants
* 2-3 medium-sized zucchinis
* 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
* 1 cup basil leaves, washed and dried
* Parmesan (or Romano) cheese
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil

Directions

1. Wash and dry the eggplant and zucchinis and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, keeping the thickness as uniform as possible. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and the garlic. Add enough oil to coat all the slices.

2. Put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta and then fire up the grill. Grill the veggies (most likely you'll have to do this in batches unless you have a really big grill) over medium heat until soft all the way through. Cook the pasta while you're grilling the veggies.

3. When the pasta is al dente, drain, rinse briefly with cold water and toss with olive oil. Then chop the basil and halve the cherry tomatoes.

4. Place the pasta in a wide, shallow bowl and add the roasted veggies, tomatoes and basil then toss until everything seems evenly distributed. Grate the Parmesan cheese over everything (be liberal with it!), add a few grinds of black pepper and serve.

A few more recipes you might like:
For more delicious recipes, gardening ideas, foraging tips, and food-related inspiration "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Like this recipe? Click here to browse through more Eatwell Recipes.

The Eatwell Project: a year of seasonal recipes -- logo by Eve Fox

No comments: