Roasted Eggplant Ragu
Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 3 red bell peppers
- 28 oz can San Marzano Tomatoes (lightly crushed)
- 8 oz mushroom mix , sliced
- 1/2 yellow onion -diced
- 5 cloves garlic -minced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
- 1 pinch sea salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high flame and roast the peppers until charred on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a lid or towel and allow to cool.
- Use a knife to poke the eggplant in a few places to help steam escape while roasting so the eggplants won’t explode in your beautiful kitchen.
- You can use the same skillet you roasted the peppers on to cook the eggplants or broil both the peppers and eggplants until charred. Allow them to char nicely on all sides then transfer to a bowl until cool enough to handle.
- Use your hands to remove the peels from both the roasted peppers and eggplants and discard the core.
- Transfer to a cutting board and dice the peppers. Finely chop the eggplant and set aside until needed. (Alternatively you can use a food processor if you prefer a smooth texture, we like it more rustic).
- Preheat a large skillet or pot over medium flame. Add a splash of water and sautee the onion until translucent. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another minute or so until you can smell the fragrance. Stir in the smoked paprika, oregano and mushrooms and cook a few minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add in the roasted peppers, eggplant and the San Marzano tomatoes together with the red wine. Give everything a good stir and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes on low flame until the sauce has reduced and thickened to your liking. Season to taste with the sea salt.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta: bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a good pinch of salt (the water should taste like the ocean). Add the macaroni and cook for 2 minutes less than the instructions on the box say.
- Add the broccoli florets to the pot with the pasta and simmer together for 2 minutes. The pasta and broccoli should be perfectly cooked al dente at this point, you don’t want to overcook them.
- Reserve one cup of the pasta water then drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander. Add them to the pot with the cheese sauce and toss everything to coat well. (Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water if needed to stretch out the sauce at this point).
Calories
201.75Fat (grams)
1.65Sat. Fat (grams)
0.27Carbs (grams)
44.82Fiber (grams)
12.50Net carbs
32.31Sugar (grams)
20.13Protein (grams)
6.72Sodium (milligrams)
50.85Cholesterol (grams)
0.00