Pasta overload

My poor Dad had to endure yet another pasta dinner tonight. What I didn't know was that he was served the remaining leftovers from the previous Sunday's roasted veggie and smoked mozzarella penne for dinner last night. And then my mom decided to give him frozen manicotti for lunch today. And here I come making another pasta dish. Sorry Dad.

Carb avalanche aside, the dish turned out really well. I wasn't quite sure about it, since some of the reviews of Giada's Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree complained about a lack of flavor. Apparently what they meant was a lack of fat, because there was plenty of flavor with this dish even without tons of cheese, butter, or cream. Plus it was insanely easy to make.

All I did was roast a pint of grape tomatoes and 1-inch cubes of eggplant at 400 for 35 minutes. The veggies were tossed with EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic. After they came out of the oven, they went into a food processor with mint. Giada called for more EVOO, but I omitted it by mistake and in retrospect, I don't think the recipe needed anymore oil. Then I tossed together the puree with pine nuts, 1/4 cup of parmesan (half of what the recipe said), and one pound of rigatoni. Voila! A simple, hearty dinner low in fat and full of fresh, subtle flavor. Was it full of complex, in-your-face flavor? No, but that was perfectly fine with me. The pine nuts added a richness, while the mint supplied freshness. Rigatoni was the perfect pasta shape to use--nice and hearty, and the ridges gripped the sauce.

Other than omitting some of the fat, the only other change I made was to toss in some red onion with the other roasted veggies. And that's how it's done! Thanks again, Giada. :-)