Ziti And Eggplant Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, pepper, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Mix the roasted red peppers into the skillet with the eggplant mixture. Continue cooking until eggplant is the consistency of the rest of the sauce.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place ziti pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 11 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the eggplant and tomato sauce over the cooked ziti.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Open pitas and evenly spread insides with butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with paprika, salt and pepper. I like to make a light sprinkling of paprika across each piece. Heat pitas in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Use to scoop up eggplant sauce, or eat separately.

Steps:

• Heat broiler. Put tomato wedges in a shallow baking dish in one layer. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Broil tomatoes about 2 inches from heat until softened and lightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside until cool, and then add garlic, peperoncino and capers. Stir gently to distribute.
• Slice eggplant into long strips about 1/4-inch thick. Paint both sides of eggplant strips with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook eggplant strips on a stovetop grill, in a cast-iron pan or over hot coals, about two minutes per side. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
• Boil the pasta in abundantly salted water until al dente, then drain and rinse briefly. Blot dry and put in a wide serving bowl. Add tomato mixture and eggplant. Toss gently to distribute. Taste for salt and hot pepper and adjust.
• Crumble cheese over top. Drizzle with a little more oil and garnish with torn basil leaves.

Steps:

• Sprinkle the eggplant with salt. Place the eggplant in a colander, and let it drain for 30 minutes.
• Rinse the eggplant, and pat it dry.
• Cook the ziti al dente according to the package directions.
• Drain and rinse the pasta, and set it aside. Combine the oil and garlic, and smear it on the eggplant slices.
• Then sprinkle the slices generously with pepper.
• Broil the eggplant slices about 4 inches from the heat, turning them once, for a total of about 5 minutes.
• (You may have to do this in 2 batches.) In a large bowl, combine the ricotta or cottage cheese, all but 2 tablespoons of the parmesan, the parsley, basil, oregano, and pepper flakes.
• Toss the cheese mixture with the ziti.
• On the bottom of a 2-= to 3 quart casserole, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce, add half the ziti mixture, then half the eggplant slices, then half the remaining tomato sauce. Repeat the ziti, eggplant, and sauce layers.
• Top with the reserved 2 tablespoons of parmesan.
• Cover the casserole, and bake it in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove the cover, and bake the casserole for another 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
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Steps:

• *Before sauteeing the eggplant dice it and salt it and then let it drain. (It can be done in colander or on paper towels).This is to get rid of the bitter flavor!
• In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 4 tablespoons of the oil & a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes, over moderately high heat.
• Add the eggplant and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic, parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper and cook 3 minutes longer.
• Heat the broiler. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until just done, about 10 to 15 minutes; then drain.
• Toss the pasta with the eggplant, the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Add the cheese and toss again.
• Transfer the pasta to a shallow baking dish or gratin dish.
• Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Steps:

• Place the eggplant slices in a bowl, and sprinkle with salt. Let drain over a bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I like to do this overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook for about 6 minutes, or until almost tender. It will cook the rest of the way in the oven. Drain. Mix together the ricotta cheese and eggs in a small bowl. Stir in half of the mozzarella cheese and Pecorino Romano cheese.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange layers of eggplant, cheese, ziti pasta, and more sauce all the way to the top of the pan. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and cheese is lightly browned.