This tasty pasta dish is based on one from Ottolenghi’s test kitchen. It is completely different than your usual pasta dish and has such a deep, smoky, creamy delicious flavor, I finished my whole bowl.
This recipe uses eggplant in 2 ways. Charred along with tomatoes, onion, red chili, tomato paste, paprika, and garlic and blended into a sauce, and then oven roasted along with some zucchini for the topping. This is then drizzled with a lemon, garlic tahini sauce which all combines for a smoky, slightly spicy, creamy, garlicky bowl of goodness.
This recipe doesn’t take super long to make if you roast and char the eggplant at the same time. This is a vegetarian, and even vegan dish (if you don’t add any shredded parm at the end). You can use any pasta you like. These little squiggly ones were great at picking up this fabulous sauce.
Charred Eggplant and Tomato Pasta with Creamy Garlic Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs baby eggplant 2 whole and 2 cut into 1 inch squares
- 4 tbsp olive oil plus extra for finishing
- 1 onion cut into 6 wedges
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 1 red chili pepper
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 zucchini cut into 1 inch squares
- 7 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 10 oz dried pasta of your choice
- salt and pepper
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 and line a sheet pan with parchment. Toss the zucchini and eggplant cubes with 2 tbsp oil oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes or so until browned and soft. Remove from the oven and combine with the chopped parsley and 2 tbsp olive oil.
- At the same time, heat a heavy duty skillet over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Add the whole eggplants (trimmed) along with the onion, tomato and whole red chili. Flip them occasionally and char over the high heat (open your windows and turn on your exhaust fan) until they are soft and well blackened. You can remove the onion, tomato and chili after about 10 minutes and place into a bowl and cover with paper towel to help release the skins. Continue to char the eggplant for another 10 minutes or so.
- Remove the skin from the eggplant, tomato and chili and add these to a blender. In a small skillet, add 2 tbsp of oil and the tomato paste, 3/4 of the garlic and the paprika. Cook this over medium heat, stirring often, until the tomato paste has darkened, about 5 minutes. Add to the blender. Blend until smooth, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Mix the tahini, rest of the garlic, and lemon juice along with a pinch of salt. Add a few tbsp of water at a time until you create a creamy sauce that you can drizzle. It may seize up at first but keep adding a little water and it will eventually thin out and come together. Season this with salt as well.
- Cook pasta according to the instructions and save 1 cup of the pasta water and drain. Add the eggplant puree to a large skillet over medium heat and thin with a little pasta water as it warms until you have a thick sauce. Add cooked pasta to this and mix. Serve up a generous bowl and top with the roasted eggplant/parsley mixture and drizzle with tahini. Serve with additional tahini on the side and some shredded parm if you like.
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