I have a crush, on eggplant. I love it, I can't get enough of it! I didn't follow a recipe for this dish, just threw it together using flavors I enjoy. I was being bit lazy and bought a jar of marinara sauce. (I have yet to find a homemade marinara that I love.) I used Victoria brand sauce, which was quite good. While I was opening the jar the sauce spilled onto my shirt, which I then licked off and thought "wow, this is pretty good!"
I began by slicing my eggplant into rounds, laying them on a wire rack on a cookie sheet, and sprinkling them liberally with salt. This is called purging the eggplant. You can find lots of information on it by doing a quick internet search. Basically it helps remove excess water from the eggplant. After the salt has had a chance to work it's magic, I let them sit for about 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant with water and dry with paper towels.
I also wanted some meat in this dish. I bought some Chef Bruce Aidell's Sundried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese smoked chicken and turkey sausage. I sliced it on an angle and heated it in a pan. Looks yummy right?
I began by slicing my eggplant into rounds, laying them on a wire rack on a cookie sheet, and sprinkling them liberally with salt. This is called purging the eggplant. You can find lots of information on it by doing a quick internet search. Basically it helps remove excess water from the eggplant. After the salt has had a chance to work it's magic, I let them sit for about 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant with water and dry with paper towels.I cut the eggplant into bite size pieces and tossed it into a bowl with the chopped squash. I drizzled it all with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I poured the veggies onto a foil lined cookie sheet and into a 450 degree oven. I let them roast for about 20 minutes until they were cooked the way I wanted them.
I also wanted some meat in this dish. I bought some Chef Bruce Aidell's Sundried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese smoked chicken and turkey sausage. I sliced it on an angle and heated it in a pan. Looks yummy right?After the sausage was heated I added the jar of sauce to the pan. Then the roasted eggplant and squash went in. I drained my pasta and reserved some of the cooking liquid in case the ricotta needed to be thinned. I stirred in about a 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese to the pasta. It wasn't too thick at all so I didn't need any of the cooking liquid. I put some pasta on the plate and finished it by topping it with the roasted veggie sausage sauce. This was quite yummy if I say so myself.
INGREDIENTS
1lb eggplant
1.25 lb squash
25 oz marinara sauce
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
Chef Bruce Aidell's Sundried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese Smoked Chicken and Turkey Sausage
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