Rotelle Pasta with Eggplant and Red Pepper Pesto | Vegan Pasta Recipes

Pasta with eggplant is a great combination. DH is a great fan of pasta and his favorite Italian dish is Eggplant Parmigiana. When I saw Giada's Trenette with Eggplant and Basil Pesto recipe, I got inspired. So tried my hands on it but tried with a red bell pepper pesto. I roasted my red bell pepper at home but jarred ones work perfectly good. This dish is very easy to put together and tastes great.

Ingredients:

Serves - 3 to 4
Wholegrain Mini Rotelle pasta - 2 cups
Eggplant - 1 large - cut into 1" pieces
For the pesto:
Roasted Red bell peppers - 1 cup or 2 Fresh Red bell peppers
Walnuts - toasted - 3 tbsp
Parmesan cheese - grated - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 1/4 cup
Garlic cloves - 1 or 2
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Paprika or Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Blend the ingredients for making pesto into a smooth paste. Boil enough water for pasta with salt. Add a tsp of olive oil and add the pasta. Cook for the time mentioned in the box and check for the doneness. When it is firm to the bite (al-dente) it is done. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain excess water. In a wide pan heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and add the eggplant. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and roast until soft brown. Do not over mix because it would make the eggplants mushy. Add the eggplants and the pesto to the pasta and toss gently to mix. You could use the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Serve hot with your favorite side.
To roast fresh red bell peppers at home:
For roasting fresh red bell peppers, set the oven in broil mode. Apply vegetable oil all over the bell peppers and place it in a baking sheet. Place it in the top most rack of the oven. Allow it to char and turn over and broil it again. Mine took 3 minutes on each side. When done place it in a bowl and cover with a tight fitting lid or cover with a plastic wrap. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes, this would allow the bell pepper to sweat and loosen the skins. Remove the skin and use as needed.

Sending this scrumptious pasta dish to 'Only'-Pasta Pizza and Noodles event by Pari, guest hosted by Jayasri and also to Fusion-Pasta event by Ramya.


Also sending my other pasta entries to these two events. Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic and Homemade Marinara and Pasta in white sauce with Roasted Vegetables.