Mediterranean Pasta
This was our Saturday night dinner this weekend. Sometimes the desire to clear out the fridge makes for a good meal. I thought there was nothing left in the fridge, but I came up with this. It was so good I decided to write it down so I could do it again.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 C. feta cheese, thinly sliced
1 1/2 C. baby arugula
1/3 C. sliced kalamata olives
7 canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
3 oven fried breaded eggplant slices, cubed
1/2 box rigatoni
1) Cook the rigatoni according to box directions.
1) In a Dutch oven or extra large saucepan saute the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant. Add the eggplant cubes and cooked until lightly crusty and browned. Stir to prevent sticking.
2) Add the artichoke hearts and the tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes to blend flavors.
3) Add the olives and the arugula and cook, stirring gently, just until the arugula wilts slightly.
4) Drain the cooked pasta and add to the pot, along with the feta. Mix gently and serve.
It might be embarrassing to admit, but Freddie and I ate this whole dish ourselves for dinner. I cooked a whole box of rigatoni and the girls had some of the rest of the pasta, with Soy Garden, Quorn Chik Cutlets, olives and tomatoes. Next time if I don’t have the breaded eggplant already on hand, I’d use plain in a snap and don’t think we’d even mind (much).
For dessert I made Sibi’s Crustless Pecan-Cranberry Pie from Vegetarian Times. While I didn’t think it resembled anything like pie, it was fantastic. It was like a cross between a cobbler and a quickbread. Though it wasn’t overly sweet, the pecans gave it a nice satisfying richness and the cranberries were just bursting with sweet-tart flavor. (Click on the link to see a photo.) Cranberries are soooo November and I feel tempted to make it for dessert on Thanksgiving. But we’ll give that some thought… I’ve already been given the assignment to make an apple pie.
