Sun-dried tomato and aubergine pasta - the food of love

If you had told me nine years ago that I would still be living in London today, I would have laughed my head off and told you you were crazy.

If you had told me nine years ago that I would someday have two adorable nephews who love me, tease me and make me laugh, I would have been thrilled.

If you had told me nine years ago that I was less than three years away from losing my mom forever, I would have been paralysed by grief.

If you had told me nine years ago that I was going to have an internationally-known blog, I would have frowned and asked you: "What is a blog?".

A lot of things can change in nine years.

But the one thing that has not changed in nine years is the man I've been married to.  And yes, I mean that both in the sense of his identity remaining the same, and his annoying habits likes and dislikes!

When we first started dating, he lived in a shared house and one evening after we had drinks with friends, he invited them back to his place for dinner.  I was panic-stricken:  I'd seen his kitchen and could not imagine what there would be by way of store cupboard ingredients that we could use to create an impromptu meal.  But as it turned out, my darling was a pasta fiend and a tinned tomato fan, and the kitchen cupboards were well-stocked with both.  We dined royally on a creamy tomato and garlic pasta and a green salad that night, and I could never have guessed that this would be the first of dozens, if not hundreds, of pasta meals that I would cook for us over the years we've known each other. 

When faced with any sort of dinner menu options at CookSister HQ, Nick will always go for the pasta option.  I find this a little expasperating sometimes as my metabolism does not move at the same hyperactive rate as his, and if I want to carry on fitting into my jeans, I can't have pasta 4 nights a week :o)  To try and balance out his taste for pasta and my unco-operative metabolism, I am always on the lookout for not-so-creamy pasta sauces, and this roasted aubergine and sun-dried tomato sauce is a fine example. 

A little bit sweet, a little bit spicy and not too heavy - it sounds like the perfect recipe for a great pasta and a long and happy marriage.  Happy anniversary, angel!

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND ROASTED AUBERGINE PASTA (serves 2)

For printable recipe, cllick here.

Ingredients:

pasta of your choice, for 2
1 medium aubergine, cut into small cubes
olive oil
pinch of red chilli flakes
1 medium onion, diced
1 heaped tsp crushed garlic (I used Very Lazy Garlic)
3/4 cup semi-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
a little plain flour
50ml single cream
a little of the pasta cooking water
salt and black pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.  Wash and cut the aubergine into 1.5cm cubes.  Spread the cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer, add about 4 Tbsp of olive oil (or enough to coat the aubergine cubes) and place in the pre-heated oven to roast for about 20 minutes.

Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions but do not discard the cooking liquid - you will need it for the sauce!

Dry-fry the chilli flakes in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, then add 2 Tbsp olive oil, the onions and the garlic.  Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent but not browned. 

Once the aubergine is soft but not mushy, add to the saucepan, together with the chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  Heat through, then stir in a couple of teaspoons of flour, stirring well so that the flour absorbs all the oil/moisture in the saucepan. 

Stir in the cream and mix well.  To get the sauce to the desired consistency, add the pasta cooking liquid a couple of spoons at a time, stirring well between each addition.  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Once the pasta has been drained, return it to the pot, add the sauce and stir it through the pasta.  Serve garnished with the chopped fresh basil.

I am submitting this dish as my entry into Presto Pasta Nights, the weekly carb-tastic event created by the lovely Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and hosted this week by my fab friend Katie of Thyme for Cooking.  Deadline is midnight tonight!

Here are some of my other pasta dishes you might like: 
- tinned salmon tagliatelle
- pasta primavera
- purple sprouting broccoli, anchovy and pecorino pasta
- Bacon, chicken liver and sherry pasta sauce

Comments

[Ruth]

Great post, it is amazing where we've all come in 9 years. If you told me 4 years ago that we'd be moving to Halifax Nova Scotia because I was going to be a grandmother, I would have laughed at the mere thought. And yet here I am, in Halifax, with two delicious little grandsons.

Loved your pasta too, by the way. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. So glad your husband is a pasta fan. Does that mean you'll be sharing many more with us?

[Kit]

Happy Anniversary, both of you!
What a lot can happen in nine years.
I also would have gone 'What?!' to the suggestion of a blog, or even that I would be writing at all, let along working as a writer.
I'm with you on creamy pasta sauces, this one sounds just right.

[Kitchen Butterfly]

Congratulations. How time flies....and how ties bind eh? Enjoy your roaring oranje weekend!

[Wizzythestick]

tomatoes. eggplant and pasta are always a winning combo

[TS eatingclub vancouver]

Congratulations to both of you! Happy Anniversary!

[Adele @ WillworkforBiltong]

Wow, nine years! Big congratulations! May your next nine years be just as wonderful.

[aqua]

Hi! I have linked your bobotie revisited post to mine here:
http://servedwithlove.blogspot.com/2010/04/bobotie.html

Thanks!

And congratulations on your anniversary :)

[meeta]

awww! i am so glad that i will be getting to meet your man in june (with or without the thong) but it's awesome to have that special one to guide, support and motivate us through all that changes around us!

happy anniversary you two!

[Firefly]

You do have a wonderful blog and I really need to write down some of the recipies to try out. But because of the kids we eat fairly simply and don't dare anything that even sounds fancy cause they won't eat it. I hope my Firefly Photo Files blog would one day be a fraction as well known as yours. That would make me very happy.

[Marisa]

Happy Anniversary! Time sure flies when you're having fun. 9 years ago I definitely wouldn't have thought I'd be married for 3 years by the time I'm 28. I'm so happy I am though - it just gets better & better everyday.

[Robyn]

Mmmm... One of my favourites. I sometimes wish my husband was a bit more active in the kitchen, but he is a very enthusiastic supporter of my cooking, and that's just as good. Happy anniversary!

[katie]

Ah yes, the different metabolis delimma. V has to / wants to have a certain amount of carbs at every meal Without a pancreas he has a hard time keeping weight on. I have a metabolism like yours.... You can see where this is going, can't you?
Great looking pasta and Happy Anniversary!

[katie]

Can't type or spell, either....

[Elizabeth]

Love the heart shaped pasta! (Wherever did you find that?) Also love the sound of this dish - roasted aubergines are wonderful, aren't they? And they must be ambrosial with sun-dried tomatoes. And cream.... mmmmmmm.

The first time I made dinner for the man who I eventually married, I made spaghetti with bacon, tomatoes, garlic, basil and parmesan (how could you go wrong with that?) It was brilliant.

And I discovered about a month later that he LOATHED pasta, especially with tomato sauce - and was just being nice. What?!! This could be a make or break deal for a relationship.

Luckily for me (or not, depending on whether it's important to wear the same jeans' size), he has completely reversed his feelings about pasta. (But I can still only have my personal favourite of bacon, tomatoes, garlic, basil and parmesan when we're dining separately.)

Happy anniversary!

[Joanne]

How exciting! Happy anniversary!

This looks like a delicious dish to commemorate and I'm sure after one bowl, your jeans will still fit the next day.

[Affiliate Program]

Wow! Wonderful!! Having a 9 years relationship is really a great achievement.. I am very delightful to hear that. I love your recipe.. Thanks for sharing this.Happy anniversary!!

[nina]

Happy anniversary Jeanne and hubs. Well done, these days, "nine years" is quite an achievement. May pasta (and Love) be the fuel for many more years to come....

[Kevin (Closet Cooking)]

This is my kind of pasta! Roasted eggplant ...mmm...

[tasteofbeirut]

Great recipe and happy anniversary! Love the eggplants and tomato and chili flakes combo for pasta.

[Jamie]

Happy Happy Anniversary! You guys do sound like the two of us and it sounds like love! Keep both the pasta dishes and the marriage sweet and hot with a hearty dash of spice and you'll be together till old, fat and happy. xoxo

[Helen]

I know! Men and pasta! I mean, seriously, I absolutely adore pasta but like you say, it's not one for more than once a week let's face it. Gorgeous sauce though.

[Soma]

A perfect summer time meal for a perfect 2 of you :-) nine years seems a long time ago, yet not too long. My girl just turned 9...

[FOODESSA]

The 2 main ingredients are ones that usually have on hand. Lately, I'm into roasting some very tasteless out of season 'Roma' tomatoes into surprisingly sweet turnouts. I may just use them in a recipe similar to the lovely pasta recipe you made.
Thank you for sharing and flavourful wishes, Claudia

[caglar keskin]

Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables all over the world. They are quickly growing plants and are favorite among most amateur gardeners so as me.
I will start to grow tomatoes in my farm and now learning watever i can about them, thanks for information. I also
found another good site about tomatoes and so many other methods of agriculturing, i recommend you to take a look.

http://agricultureguide.org/

[christine]

Hello! I found this blog in foodista and followed it here. This is a lovely blog and awesome SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND ROASTED AUBERGINE PASTA recipe. The photo looks good, I bet it taste even better. By the way you can place more foodista widget in your past and future blogs so that other foodista readers can follow and see your blog too. Just search for a related recipe or food and use its widget. I hope to read more from you. Cheers!

[Xean]

A new recipe that I would really like to try.. It looks so delicious and healthy...!