I am trying to cook meat-free meals this week, in honor of our upcoming vacation!  I know we will be eating a lot of delicious meat and seafood in Vietnam, so I thought I would try to balance everything out by eating a few vegetarian meals before we go.

Paco worked late last night, so I made a roasted vegetable pasta sauce for myself.  I have made Giada De Laurentiis’s Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree before, so this is my modified version of that.  You could incorporate whatever vegetables you have on hand, but I happened to have eggplant and cherry tomatoes, which are used in the original recipe.

Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Sauce (for one!)
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1/3 medium-sized eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 c cherry tomatoes
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
kosher salt
10 leaves basil
1/4 lb of short pasta (I used elbow macaroni)
parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the eggplant and cherry tomatoes with olive oil on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish. Season with red pepper flakes and kosher salt. Roast for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook until al dente, then drain, reserving a cup of the salted pasta water.

When the vegetables have been roasted, puree them in a food processor with the basil and some extra olive oil, if necessary. Taste to make sure that the sauce is adequately seasoned. (You will probably need to add additional salt.)

Add the sauce to the drained pasta. Add some of the hot pasta water, a little bit at the time, until the pasta is the right consistency. Top with grated parmesan.