Recipe

Eggplant and pesto baked pasta

Jul 21, 2009 2:00pm
  • 1 hr cooking
  • Serves 10
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Photography: Brett Stevens/Styling: Yael Grinham

Ingredients

Eggplant and pesto baked pasta
  • 500 packet small pasta
  • 2 (300g) large zucchini, coarsely grated
  • 3/4 cup (200g) prepared pesto
  • 2 (1kg) eggplants, thinly sliced lengthways
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) olive oil
  • 2 cup (200g) grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup (20g) freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 500 gram cherry tomatoes, halved

Method

Eggplant and pesto baked pasta
  • 1
    In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until just tender; drain. Combine the pasta with zucchini and pesto; mix well.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, brush both sides of the eggplant slices with oil. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook eggplant in batches until browned on both sides; drain on absorbent paper.
  • 3
    Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
  • 4
    Spoon pasta into a shallow ovenproof dish (4-litre/16-cup capacity). Top with eggplant, overlapping the slices. Sprinkle eggplant with the 2 cheeses and top with tomatoes, cut-side up.
  • 5
    Bake, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until heated through and cheese is lightly browned; cover with foil if over-browning.

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