I am kind of an organization freak and have an especial fondness for making lists, whether they consist of things I want to do during the day, books I want to read or, of course, recipes I want to make. I also like to make my weekly menus in advance, partially because its so cold in Boston that I only want to trek over to the grocery store once, but also because I enjoy the process of parsing through the various recipes that I have bookmarked. Sometimes, however, I can get a little out of hand, occasionally taking hours to plan only a week of meals. In order to try to harness this, I’ve organized the month of January so that I’ve allotted myself certain types of recipes for certain weeks during the month. This week was a Rachael Ray week, meaning that I had to cook at least one meal either from her show on the Food Network, her magazine, her cookbooks, or her daytime talk show. Although this was a task in itself since she has been a very prolific chef, I remembered this recipe for babganoush-hummus pasta that struck my eye when I first saw it on 30 Minute Meals. Hummus and eggplant just happen to be two of my favorite things in the world, so I figured that the combination of the two, along with pasta (another favorite of mine) had be amazing. And I was right. This pasta dish, although so unconventional, was really tasty. The spices were really well-proportioned, the sauce was just the right amount of chunky and smooth…all in all I would highly recommend it. While making it, I also went with a different kind of whole wheat pasta than I normally use…I have traditionally been a die-hard Ronzoni Healthy Harvest fan but this week my supermarket was out! Instead I went with De Cecco. The texture and flavor were much more similar to that of regular white pasta and so this might be a better option for those who are whole wheat resistant (cough my parents cough). For those of you who are whole wheat pasta eaters out there, what is your favorite brand?

I am going to submit this to Presto Pasta Nights , a food blogging event that I have been watching for a long time. It is being hosted this week by Ivy of Kopiaste so check in with her on Friday for the round-up! I apologize in advance for the fact that this dish is so un-aesthetically pleasing…I obviously didn’t consider the fact that hummus and babaganoush are two of the least photogenic foods when deciding to make this pasta dish tonight. And while I realize that the homogeneous brown blob above is probably not making you want to try out this recipe, I promise that it tasted TONS better than it looks.

Babganoush-Hummus Pasta

Serves 4, adapted from Rachael Ray

1 lb whole wheat penne

1 lb eggplant
1 can chickpeas
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp tahini
1 cup vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic
4 tbsp lemon juice

First, I peeled and diced the eggplant into small cubes. Then, I started boiling water for the pasta. While the water was heating, I sauteed the garlic in the EVOO until it just started to brown. I added in the chickpeas and eggplant, as well as the spices, and cooked the mixture covered for 10 minutes. After the ten minutes was up, I threw in the lemon juice, covered the pot again and let it cook for another 5 minutes. At this point the eggplant was very mushy and definitely ready to be pureed! That being said, I combined the eggplant/chickpea mix, the tahini and the broth in a food processor and pulse processed until smooth-ish with some small chunks. I put the sauce back in the pan over low heat. At this point, the water was just about boiled, so I added in the pasta. When it was done, took some of the cooking water and added it to the sauce until it reached the desired consistency. Finally, I mixed the pasta with the babganoush-hummus.

To all of you northeasterners reading this, good luck with the storm thats supposed to hit tonight!

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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4 Responses to For The Love of Eggplant (and Chickpeas)

  1. Ivy says:

    Hi Joanne. Your pasta dish is very original and indeed sounds delicious with the combination you made. I know I would certainly love this.

  2. Ruth says:

    Joanne, great dish. Isn’t it funny, how some of the best tasting foods are beige in color and don’t photograph so well. No problem for me and thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

  3. Pam says:

    I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who spends hours planning menus!

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