Roasted Aubergine and Tomato Pasta Sauce

A friend gave me this idea for a pasta sauce when we visited them for dinner a few weeks ago. She had made an aubergine dip to go with the roast chicken dinner and it was delicious. I thought how nice it would be to try this as a pasta sauce. So I decided to give it a try.

Aubergines are full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. They have the potential to lower cholesterol and to help maintain weight. The fibre, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and phytonutrient content in aubergines all support heart health. Many studies suggest that increased consumption of plant foods like aubergine decreases the risk of obesity, overall mortality, diabetes and heart disease.

With all the fantastic nutrients in aubergines this pasta sauce is healthy but also tastes brilliant too. My husband and son, who are not normally fans of aubergine, both enjoyed this dish. It’s a great family meal that can be made at the weekend, frozen and eaten during the week.

Serves 4

Equipment needed

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Baking tray
• Zester
• Fork
• Food processor
• Saucepans x 2
• Colander

Ingredients

• Aubergine x 2 large
• Tomatoes on the vine x 1 kg (preferably cherry tomatoes)
• Onion x 1 large
• Garlic x 6 – 8 cloves
• Olive oil
• Herbs du provence or dried mixed herbs x 2 tsp
• Lemon x 1 (juice and zest)
• Chicken or vegetable stock x 200mls
• Salt and pepper
• Basil

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180° and add the baking tray in.
• Chop the aubergine into cubes and quarter the onion.
• If the oven is preheated, remove the baking tray.
• Add the aubergine, onion, garlic and tomatoes still on the vine to the oven.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Next remove the skin from the lemon with the zester into the bowl.
• Then chop in half and squeeze the lemon using the fork into the bowl.
• Pour the lemon and zest over the top and toss everything well.
• Put all the ingredients into the oven and cook for 25 – 30 minutes or until the vegetables start to turn golden brown.
• Once cooked leave to cool.
• When they have cooled down, remove any stalks from the tomatoes, add everything to the food processor and blend.
• Finally once blended, remove the blade and pour into the saucepan.
• Leave on a low heat just to keep warm.
• Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions.
• Finally add the pasta to the sauce.
• Serve and enjoy.

Roasted Aubergine and Tomato Pasta Sauce is a great dish that is very versatile. It can be left as a vegan dish or you can add cheese to it and make it a vegetarian dish. You can even cook chicken or beef and add these in at the end to make it for a meat eater. As I have mentioned earlier, it’s another great sauce that you can freeze, defrost and make during the week. It’s a 10 minute meal then. However you decide to eat this dish, as always please enjoy.