Vegetable and Pasta Stew
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- â…“cup virgin olive oil
- 1small unpeeled eggplant (8 ounces), preferably the small, thin Japanese variety, cut into 1- to 1½-inch chunks (about 2½ cups)
- 1red onion (6 ounces), peeled and chopped coarse (about 1½ cups)
- 10scallions, dark green and damaged outer leaves removed and discarded, remainder cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1sweet red pepper (7 ounces), seeded and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
- 1piece cauliflower (8 to 10 ounces), divided into florets (about 2 cups)
- 1zucchini (7 ounces), washed, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- ½teaspoon salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 to 4quarts water
- 1pound gnocchetti (or another small pasta like elbow, bow-tie, penne, ziti or rigati)
- ¼cup imported Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish if desired
- 2tablespoons virgin olive oil
- ½teaspoon salt
- ¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Vegetables
For the Pasta
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
491 calories; 20 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 504 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
To prepare the vegetables, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the eggplant and cook it over medium to high heat for about 5 minutes, until it is brown on all sides. (It will absorb most of the oil.)
- Step 2
Add the red onion, scallions, red pepper and cauliflower to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes more, covered. Add the salt and pepper, toss until well mixed and set aside.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare the pasta: bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size and type of pasta you are using and how you like it cooked.
- Step 4
Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Put this water in a large serving bowl and mix it with the cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the pasta and toss it with the cheese mixture.
- Step 5
Stir in the reserved vegetables and serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
This is just as it sounds - a very basic dish of pasta tossed with a few veggies. I guess I was hoping for something magical because this recipe was from Jacques Pepin. Nope!
This looked promising, but for our tastes needed more zing. So I:
1. Added a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and some crushed dried red pepper at the cauliflower stage.
2. Instead of steaming at that point, left the lid off and let those vegetables get a bit brown too.
3. Added more chopped garlic at the pasta stage.
4. Omitted the extra oil at the pasta stage, instead plopping the hot pasta, the reserved cooking water, and the cheese into the vegetable pan.
With these changes, delicious!