Rigatoni With Eggplant and Capsicum

Rigatoni With Eggplant and Capsicum  Sheer Italian genius with less than a dozen ingredients
Servings: 2 yield(s)
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 medium Onion - diced
  • 2 cloves Garlic - roughly chopped
  • 0.5 a medium Eggplant (Aubergine) - in 1.5cm dice
  • 0.5 a red Capsicum (Bell Pepper) - 1cm pieces
  • 0.5 tbsp baby Capers
  • 50 g Baby Spinach leaves
  • 150 g Rigatoni
  • 125 g Bocconcini cheese - quartered
  • 125 g Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp fresh Basil Leaves - torn
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion, garlic and eggplant, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until fragrant - about 5 minutes,
  2. Add the capsicum and capers and continue to fry on medium heat for a further 5-10 minutes until the eggplant and capsicum are softened and browned.
  3. Stir in the spinach and warm until wilted.
  4. While the eggplant and capsicum are cooking, boil the pasta in salted water according to the packet directions.
  5. When it's cooked, reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta well.
  6. Return the pasta to the warm pot and add the eggplant, capsicum, all the oil from the frying pan, plus the bocconcini, tomatoes and the reserved pasta water.
  7. Combine, stirring well, until the bocconcini starts to melt.
  8. Scatter with torn basil and finish with a hefty grind of black pepper.