Rigatoni

Jamie Oliver is not only adorable, but his cookbooks are really great too. This pasta dish is wonderful on so many levels.


Rigatoni with Eggplant, Sweet Tomatoes, and Mozzarella
adapted from Jamie Oliver

1/2 lb Rigatoni (get the kind with a textured surface so the sauce actually sticks, this is good advice for all dried pasta)
1/2 an eggplant
1 can of diced tomatoes (roasted are best)
1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
4-5 oz soft mozzarella
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar (I think this is the secret ingredient)
dash of red pepper flake (or a finely chopped chili)
handful of torn basil
Add some mushrooms too if you'd like

Cube the eggplant and toss it in a big pan with lots of olive oil. You want the oil to coat the eggplant all over. Cook that for about 10 minutes until the eggplant softens up then add the garlic, onion, and mushrooms. Boil the water for the rigatoni while things are incorporating in the pan. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flake, and a fair amount of salt and pepper. You want to cook it on low/medium heat for about 10 minutes more so everything gets all soft and delicious. Once the rigatoni is done and drained, drizzle it with olive oil in the pot you cooked it in. You want to coat it all over so the sauce clings to the pasta. Toss it all together and tear the mozzarella and basil into the pan and stir it up and watch all the cheese melt into a gooey mess. Have some Parmesan table side to finish it off and a hunk of crusty bread would be nice too.