Ziti and Eggplant

Eggplant pieces absorb the flavors to create a delicious tomato sauce served over ziti, complemented by cheese pita bread. You may easily coordinate the three parts of the recipe (pasta, sauce, pita) to finish at the same time. This recipe works great as just a pasta dish if you want to make the pitas separately! If you want, you can saute some garlic and onions before you throw the eggplant chunks into the skillet.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 545 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 3 pita bread rounds
• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 ¼ teaspoons white sugar (Optional)
• 1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red pepper, drained and cut into strips
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese or to taste
• sweet paprika to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

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.

Step 2

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.

Step 3

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.