Pasta with eggplant pesto and cherry tomatoes. Creamy, tasty, this main dish always turns out well, is loved by everyone, and is very simple to make.
It is a delicious main dish, a colorful summer meal that is good served hot but also tasty when enjoyed cold and exceptional.
If you love eggplants, this is a preparation you definitely need to try at least once in your life.
In my opinion, it can’t go unliked because it’s so good, to the point where I risk finishing it by the spoonful!
How delicious the Eggplant Pesto is, a versatile and flavorful cream we can use to dress main dishes or snacks to serve for an aperitif.
Eggplant pesto is a tasty and flavorful summer preparation, very easy and quick to make and super versatile.
Certainly one of the recipes to try with this vegetable, it has a bold and unmistakable flavor that is worth trying!
Delicious, it is prepared with a procedure similar to other pestos, except in this case we start with cooked eggplant. We chose to bake it in the oven, but we can also use an air fryer if we prefer.
After that, the pulp is collected in a blender and blended together with toasted almonds, grated parmesan, oil, garlic, and parsley.
The result will be a tasty sauce, with a slightly grainy texture, perfect for dressing a good plate of pasta or spreading on a crunchy slice of toasted bread.
If you prefer, you can substitute the almonds with the same amount of cashews or walnuts, or add grated pecorino instead of parmesan for a saltier and bolder note.
It can also be used in more fanciful preparations, to fill bruschetta, canapés.
I chose a short pasta shape, but you are free to use whichever you like. It’s also great for dressing a plate of gnocchi.
I could suggest some modifications, like replacing the almonds with other nuts or the parsley with … basil, but the truth is that I think it’s already perfect as it is, however, if you try some variants, let me know.
Below the recipe, you’ll find some tips on how to store your pesto and how to prepare it in the best way.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 396.95 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.61 (g) of which sugars 9.66 (g)
- Proteins 13.79 (g)
- Fat 19.79 (g) of which saturated 4.00 (g)of which unsaturated 1.84 (g)
- Fibers 5.68 (g)
- Sodium 1,094.31 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 180 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 for the Pasta with Eggplant Pesto
- 14 oz pasta (gnocchetti or short or long pasta as you prefer)
- 1 eggplant (nice and large)
- 1.75 oz parmesan cheese (you can halve and add pecorino)
- 1 bunch parsley (or basil)
- 1.5 oz blanched almonds (or walnuts, pine nuts, or cashews)
- 10.5 oz cherry tomatoes
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- salt
- pepper
- basil (for decoration)
Tools
- Immersion Blenders
- Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Pot
- Colander
Steps for the Pasta with Eggplant Pesto
Wash the eggplant and dry it.
Place the eggplant in the center of a baking pan, lined with parchment paper.
Pierce the eggplant evenly with a toothpick.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 392 °F for about 45/50 minutes or until the pulp is very soft.
(Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the eggplant).
(If you’re in a hurry and want to speed up, you can cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, transfer them to a baking tray lined with parchment paper, slightly score the pulp with diagonal cuts, brush the surface with a little oil, and season with salt moderately, then bake the eggplants in a static oven).
After this time, remove the eggplants from the oven and let them cool for 10/15 minutes before proceeding with the preparation of the pesto.
You need to remove the skin; I helped myself with a knife and fork.
At this point, cut the eggplant into pieces.
Add the blanched almonds, grated parmesan cheese, a few parsley leaves, a pinch of salt and pepper, a good drizzle of oil to the eggplant pulp, then blend everything.
To your taste, blend the ingredients until you get a very smooth pesto or, as in this case, with a slightly more rustic texture; if necessary, add a bit more oil to better blend the ingredients and adjust the salt.
Transfer the eggplant pesto into a dry and clean glass jar, drizzle with a little olive oil.
Taste, and if necessary, add salt and pepper.
Take a saucepan, add plenty of water, and bring it to a boil. Wash the tomato well, make a cross incision on the bottom, trying to cut only the skin.
When the water boils, blanch the tomato for 1 minute.
Remove the tomato from the water and peel off the skin.
Cut the tomato into cubes, removing all the parts with seeds.
Do not throw away the water where you blanched the tomato but add a little coarse salt and cook the pasta in it.
In a pan, add the clove of garlic, oil, and diced tomatoes.
Salt and cook for a few minutes, then add the pesto and 1/2 tablespoon of pasta cooking water.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and pour it into the pan along with the sauce.
Stir and mix well, then serve, garnished with basil leaves.
Enjoy your meal
Tips and Curiosities
You can add a sun-dried tomato in oil to the preparation (but be careful with the amount of added salt) and a few mint leaves; or prepare the sauce without garlic to increase its digestibility.
I used almonds, alternatively, you can also use pine nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, or walnuts. Let’s use up our leftovers if we have any and avoid waste.
In the proposed version, a large oval eggplant was used, but you can easily choose another variety without compromising the success of the pesto.
If we want to prepare eggplant pesto for storage, just follow a few small precautions. Put it in sterilized glass jars and top up with good olive oil to completely cover the surface. This way, it won’t oxidize.
Alternatively, it can be frozen to have it ready when eggplants are out of season.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I freeze the eggplant pesto
You can freeze your pesto in ice cube trays or in single-portion containers: when needed, you just have to take it out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator, ready to be used on pasta or for any other preparation (if necessary, once thawed, add oil).
