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Ratatouille with Cochiglie Rigate - Dinner last night !

Ratatouille with Cochiglie Rigate - an inspired pasta dish that's perfect for a one dish dinner.
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 - 2 tbsps olive oil
  • 4 - 5 cloves garlic u2013 peeled, smashed and chopped
  • 1 onion large - thinly sliced
  • 1 cup eggplant diced (Use the big sized roasting variety )
  • 1 strips bell pepper large , cut into short
  • quartered 1 zucchini , lengthwise and diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms sliced
  • 1 xbd cups tomatoes chopped (with seeds)
  • 1 packed spinach loosely finely shredded cup
  • 200 ml tomato puree (unsalted)
  • 1 tsp red chilli chilli powder / flakes
  • 1 tbsp oregano dried
  • 1/4 tsp coriander seeds crushed
  • 1/4 tsp fennel seeds crushed
  • xbd tsp thyme dried
  • xbd cup basil leaves
  • 1 xbd tsps salt
  • xbd tsp black pepper powder

Method
 

  1. Recipe for Pasta:
  2. Take 1 xbd cups of your favourite pasta (short variety like penne, spirals, conchiglie ).
  3. A large pot of salted boiling water.
  4. Cook pasta according to pack instructions, drain and keep aside.
  5. Recipe for Ratatouille:
  6. In a large soup pot / saucepan, heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Start with the smashed, chopped garlic, saute for a few seconds. Do not brown. Add the sliced onions with a fat pinch of salt and stir it on a low flame for 3-4 minutes till soft.
  7. Put it in the diced eggplant and bell pepper strips. Stir this occasionally until they are half done. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Next, add the zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes. Season with chilli powder, remaining salt and cook for 5 minutes till vegetables are cooked. Lastly throw in shredded spinach, stir for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt and blend with the rest of the vegetables. Add spices and dried herbs, torn basil leaves, black pepper powder and give it a good stir.
  8. Add the cooked pasta and combine well with ratatouille. Serve hot garnished with some more shredded fresh basil.

Notes

Notes:
1. It is not necessary to chop all vegetables before you place the pot on the stove. Just keeping the garlic and onions chopped, the remaining vegetables can be chopped and thrown while the previous ingredients in the pan are cooking.
2. The red chilli powder is added to give it more flavour as it is combined with bland pasta.
3. You can substitute the oregano and thyme with herbs de Provence if you have it on hand.
4. It is a very good idea to double / triple the recipe and freeze the extra portions. You will be rewarded for the extra effort, on a day you come back home late and you have this splendid meal waiting for you in the freezer.
5. This is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables in your fridge as you can add almost any non-starchy veggie into the pot.
6. Eggplant with pasta may seem like a crazy idea, but do try it once. You will be fascinated by the amalgamation of flavours and I can guarantee that the plates will be licked clean.
Let me add that this was the best pasta meal we've ever had (yes, hubby agreed with me too) and we had to give it a equally grand finale like a shot of the golden Remy Martin XO!
Source: Adapted from Sara Moulton's recipe