rigatoni with eggplant puree
Seeing as I am never short on opinion on anything–most especially when it comes to that so often grace my television set, Alex calls the Sunday noontime shows my “stories”–I can’t believe I haven’t previously said a single word about Giada DeLaurentis. Let me redress that right now: I really want to like her–and no, not in the way that my husband does (busted!). I’ll see her cooking something and it always looks good and like it be tasty, but never, and I mean ever, do I feel any great need to cook the recipe for myself.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 16 of 17 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 16 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pasta | 1 cup cooked (140g) | 220 |
| Pine | 1 oz (28g) | 191 |
| Pine Nut | 1 oz (28g) | 191 |
| Vegetable | 1 tbsp (14g) | 120 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 110 |
| Cherry | 1 cup (138g) | 87 |
| Eggplant | 1 cup cubed (82g) | 35 |
| Walnut | 1 walnut half (4g) | 26 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Peppermint | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, whole
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- Glug of balsamic or red wine vinegar or freshly-squeezed lemon juice (optional)
- While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables. Roast until golden, about
- 4 minutes (only do it for 8 if you want them nice and burnt, like mine). Remove from the oven and reserve.