Vegetarian pasta with eggplant and zucchini Bolognese style
We spent last weekend at my brother’s house in the countryside, where I cooked this easy vegetarian pasta with my lovely sister in law Alessandra and my wonderful two nieces.
We decided to get inspired by a recipe posted by Luca.
I love this recipe because it reminds me a Bolognese sauce but without the guiltiness of the meat!
INGREDIENTS
Here is what you need for your Italian vegetarian pasta:
- 2 long black eggplants
- 1 leek
- 1 carrot
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 3 zucchini
- 1 celery
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 glass of red wine
- 1 leaf bay
- Bush of fresh thyme
- Grated parmesan cheese
- 300 gr of pasta
- 200 grams of Italian pancetta or bacon (optional)
- Salt
DIRECTIONS
- Cut every vegetable into small cubes
- Chop the thyme
- Put in a large nonstick pan 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- For the non-vegetarian version just add this steps: Cut bacon into cubes; Put the bacon in the pan and let roast the bacon (around 5 minutes)
- Add the vegetables: start with carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes
- Add the tomatoes, and proceed with the leek, eggplant, the zucchini and bay leaf
- Add salt and the glass of red wine. Put the lid and continue cooking over low heat for about 50 minutes stirring occasionally
- Boil the water (1 liter of water every 100 gr of pasta), add the salt only when the water in already boiling (1 tablespoon every liter of water)
- Cook the past for half of the cooking time suggested on the package
- Put 4 cups of cooking water aside, drain the pasta and put the pasta into the pan with the vegetables
- Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the 4 cups of water that we put aside, let the pasta absorb that until is cooked “al dente”
- Let it rest for 3 minutes
- Serve with a sprinkling of fresh thyme and if you want a little ‘ Parmesan cheese on top
- Enjoy your vegetarian pasta and buon appetito from Easy Italian Cuisine!
This sounds like a wonderful dish. 🙂 Something I will try during the summer!
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And hope you may enjoy!
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This looks and sounds amazing! Love the fact it’s all vegetarian! 🙂
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Lot of Italian dish are vegetarian!
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