If, like me, you love eggplants, then you can’t miss trying this delicious main dish: Orecchiette with Eggplant Cream, Cherry Tomatoes, and Arugula. A truly perfect combination of ingredients for a creamy and flavorful main dish.
Also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz orecchiette
- 1 black oval eggplant (about 1 lb)
- 7 oz cherry tomatoes
- 2 leaves basil
- 0.7 oz arugula
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Tools
- Blender
Steps
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and place the cherry tomatoes and the eggplant, halved and without the stem, inside. Season with a pinch of salt and drizzle a bit more oil on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 30 minutes. Once done, take the tray out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, then proceed to peel the eggplant, which should come off easily like a film. Transfer the eggplant to a blender, along with half of the tomatoes, leaving the other half aside. Also add 2 basil leaves and season with black pepper. Blend everything to obtain a cream.
Cook the pasta, in this case orecchiette, following the cooking instructions on the package. Alternatively, any other pasta shape you prefer is fine. Meanwhile, transfer the cream into a pan, along with a bit of olive oil. Add the previously set aside tomatoes. Pour in a ladle of pasta cooking water, then stir and let it cook for a few minutes over medium-low heat. Adjust the salt.
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Add the arugula, and mix everything together.
The orecchiette with eggplant cream, cherry tomatoes, and arugula are ready!
