Pasta with peppers, zucchini, and eggplant is a tasty first course that I am very fond of. It was one of my mother’s countless recipes, which she loved to include among the Sunday dishes during the summer rotation.
In my childhood home, we traditionally always ate red pasta on Sundays, so in winter it was sauces, ragù, baked pasta. In summer, it was time for pasta with fresh homemade sauce, topped with either fried zucchini slices or fried eggplant slices.
Then one day, the idea came to also add roasted peppers, creating a simple, delicious pasta that combined all the previous elements in one go.
We had land, and living in Sicily, these vegetables and produce came in abundance during the summer, and so the sauce was also made with freshly picked tomatoes.
Today, I follow my mom’s whole recipe, but I buy the sauce; the result is still excellent.
So, I invite you to try the dish, and I assure you, you’ll love it.
The peppers flavor the pasta, while the fried eggplants and zucchini give it that irresistible and impactful touch.
Scented with fresh basil, serve it to relatives and friends for summer lunches or dinners! It will surely be a hit!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 1,485.37 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 49.60 (g) of which sugars 7.31 (g)
- Proteins 13.79 (g)
- Fat 141.08 (g) of which saturated 16.35 (g)of which unsaturated 108.20 (g)
- Fibers 9.24 (g)
- Sodium 757.11 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 260 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 320 g pasta (wide nests)
- 2 peppers
- 2 zucchini
- 1 eggplant (large violet)
- 750 g tomato passata
- to taste basil (fresh)
- to taste Grana Padano cheese, grated
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste sunflower oil (for frying)
Tools
- Pan non-stick for frying
- Grill Pan cast iron
- 2 Pots
Steps
Prepare the pasta with peppers, zucchini, and eggplant by starting with washing the eggplant.
Clean it by removing both ends and a continuous strip of skin all around it.
Cut the eggplant into cubes and place them in a colander to lose bitterness by sprinkling them with a moderate pinch of coarse salt.
Leave them this way for about half an hour.
Roast the peppers on all sides on a cast iron grill (or in the oven), on low flame until they are soft.
Wash the zucchini, remove both ends, and cut them into slices about half an inch thick, pat the slices on both sides with a cloth.
Fry in hot sunflower or peanut oil.
After frying, place them on absorbent paper to drain excess oil.
In hot oil, then fry the eggplant after rinsing it of salt and patting it dry with a cloth. Place it on absorbent paper afterward.
Put the sauce on the stove to thicken with a large crushed garlic clove. When it reaches boiling, salt and stir.
Continue cooking on low flame, stirring occasionally, and correcting any acidity of the sauce with 1 scant tablespoon of sugar.
When the peppers are cooked, place them on a plate and close them inside a plastic food bag, making sure to seal it.
After about 20 minutes or more, start peeling the peppers, removing all the seeds as well. Cut them into strips.
Season with a little fine salt and oil.
Cook the pasta al dente and drain it.
In the meantime, the sauce will be cooked, so turn off the heat, remove the garlic, and generously add chopped fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil raw.
Pour the pasta directly into the pan containing the sauce, add zucchini, eggplant, and peppers (leaving a little of all three aside to better present the dish, or to bring to the table for guests) and then more basil and a tablespoon of grated Grana Padano cheese.
Mix with care.
The pasta with peppers, zucchini, and eggplant is now ready.
Serve adding more vegetables on top and sprinkle with more grated Grana Padano cheese.
The already assembled pasta is best consumed immediately, while sauce and vegetables can be stored in the fridge, each sealed well in an airtight container, for a couple of days.
The already assembled pasta is best consumed immediately, while sauce and vegetables can be stored in the fridge, each sealed well in an airtight container, for a couple of days.
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