For Your Vegan Valentine – Lucious Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

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eatingwell.com


Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta is a colorful, flavorful dish you might like to try for Valentine’s Day or when you have guests for dinner on the weekend. The blend of eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, and green olives makes this out of the ordinary and very tasty. Served with a salad, some garlic bread, and one of Claire Gosse’s amazing desserts, this would be an easy, festive dinner any night of the year. Here’s the recipe.

Diced eggplant turns tender and tasty sautéed with garlic and olive oil. Toss with fresh plum tomatoes, green olives and capers. We like it over angel hair pasta, but any type of pasta will work.

6 servings
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, (optional)
• 12 ounces whole-wheat angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, or basil

Preparation
1. Put a pot of water on to boil.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes, olives, vinegar, capers, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down, 5 to 7 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until just tender, about 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and divide the pasta among 6 shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle parsley (or basil) on top.

Nutrition
Per serving: 282 calories; 7 g fat ( 1 g sat , 5 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 50 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 11 g fiber; 467 mg sodium; 416 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Magnesium (25% daily value), Vitamin C (18% dv), Folate & Iron (15% dv).

Eggplant – You’ve gotta love it! It tastes so good and is full of health benefits! It can enhance immunity, help to lower cholesterol, and fight heart disease. It has cancer fighting qualities, is diuretic and antibacterial, and binds cholesterol in the intestinal tract so that fat is not absorbed into the bloodstream. In addition to the nutrients mentioned above, eggplant has calcium, iron, many B vitamins and phytochemicals.

Make Valentine’s Day special with one of Claire Gosse’s delicious treats from Are You Sure That’s Vegan? (Desserts). How about Caramel Pecan Cheesecake or Crème Brulee or Super Easy Chocolate Mousse, or Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes? These are all gorgeous to look at and loved by everyone (vegan and non-vegan) who tries them. You can choose from 55 wonderful recipes. Click the link to Are You Sure That’s Vegan? (Desserts) to see the beautiful photos and read the testimonials. Get some free recipes, too!

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