{"id":4973,"date":"2011-09-28T16:53:38","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T23:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=4973"},"modified":"2011-09-28T16:53:38","modified_gmt":"2011-09-28T23:53:38","slug":"an-old-favorite-revived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/an-old-favorite-revived\/","title":{"rendered":"An old favorite revived"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the pitfalls of being a food writer is that terrific dishes far too often fall by the wayside while I’m pursuing new flavors and ingredients.<\/p>\n

That was the case with this pasta, which combines some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors.\u00a0 For years, while I was still working in hard news, this was my go-to pasta dish.\u00a0 I made it for friends and family alike.\u00a0 The proportions and techniques were so familiar, I could whip it up without referring to the recipe.<\/p>\n

Then I left the city desk, joined the food team and began trying out new recipes every week when I wasn’t reviewing restaurants.\u00a0 I lost track of this old favorite and my copy of the recipe disappeared.<\/p>\n

Not until a longtime friend requested the recipe this summer did I begin to try to recreate it.\u00a0 I remembered the ingredients, but it took a little fiddling to get the proportions right.<\/p>\n

This is still a terrific vegetarian dish with cubes of roasted eggplant contributing meaty substance to a sauce bright with sweet tomatoes, tangy goat cheese and fresh basil. Capers and Kalamata olives add salty accents.<\/p>\n

An elegant pasta that tastes just as good warmed up the next day, the whole dish comes together fairly quickly once you’ve cut and roasted the eggplant.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Marilyn, for prodding me to bring this pasta back into my repertoire.\u00a0 Old dishes, like old friends, deserve to be remembered.<\/p>\n

PENNE WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT, BASIL AND GOAT CHEESE RECIPE<\/strong>
\nServes 6<\/em> <\/p>\n

1 pound eggplant, cut into 1\/2 -inch pieces
\n3 tablespoons olive oil
\n4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
\n2 1\/2 cups chopped tomatoes (or a 28 ounce can, drained)
\n1 pound penne pasta
\n6 ounces goat cheese
\n1\/3 cup chopped Kalamata olives
\n1 tablespoon capers
\nSalt
\nFreshly ground black pepper
\n1\/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
\nFreshly grated Parmesan cheese<\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.\u00a0 Lightly toss cut-up eggplant with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet.\u00a0 Bake for about 20 minutes until eggplant is very tender and lightly browned.\u00a0 Stir several times while roasting to make sure the eggplant doesn’t burn.\u00a0 Remove from oven and set aside while you prepare the sauce.<\/p>\n

Place a large pot of generously salted water over high heat.\u00a0 While the water is coming to a boil, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion and garlic.\u00a0 Cook, stirring often, until softened.\u00a0 Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cover.\u00a0 Cook for 10-15 minutes more.<\/p>\n

Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about\u00a0 10-12 minutes.\u00a0 Meanwhile, stir roasted eggplant into the tomato sauce. Drain pasta, reserving about 3\/4 cup of the cooking water.<\/p>\n

In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce, crumbled goat cheese, olives and capers. Season with salt and pepper.\u00a0 Add some of the reserved water if necessary to get a saucy consistency.\u00a0 Add basil and Parmesan to taste, toss again and serve.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the pitfalls of being a food writer is that terrific dishes far too often fall by the wayside while I’m pursuing new flavors and ingredients. That was the case with this pasta, which combines some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors.\u00a0 For years, while I was still working in hard news, this was my … Continue reading An old favorite revived<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4973"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5016,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4973\/revisions\/5016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}