Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta

by Sarah
Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

There’s nothing like a delicious bowl of pasta to settle you down for the evening, especially when it is a bowl of creamy chilli, tomato and aubergine pasta!

When we were staying with my parents recently and I was cooking the meals I had a sudden realisation about how many dishes we have with chilli or other spice in.  Pretty much everything from what I had planned for our camping dinners.  And I’m OK with that because I love a bit of spice in my meals, especially when it nicely balances out the creaminess, like it does in this pasta recipe.

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Easy for mid-week

I think that pasta dishes like this one are an absolute savior for busy mid-week nights when you have other stuff on or just need a bit of a break.  You can chuck all the ingredients into one stock pot, cook some pasta then add that to the pot too and eat with a sprinkling of cheese.  It doesn’t even need to be posh cheese either!  I remember finding a love for Cheddar and Leicester on pasta while at Uni and it still brings a smile to my face now.

The simplicity of this pasta dish makes it a great ‘go to’ dish for your meal plan as you can always chuck in some other veggies like courgette, leeks or asparagus and you’ll still have a super tasty dinner.  It works amazingly well as left overs too for the next day.

Creamy Chili, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced,

2 aubergines, diced into 1 cm chunks

1 fresh red chilli, finely diced

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes

200 g tub of Ricotta cheese

a bunch of fresh basil, stalks finely chopped and leaves roughly chopped

sunflower seeds and vegetarian Parmesan

300 g fusili pasta

Creamy Chili, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

Method:

Heat the oil in a stock pot or large pan

Chuck the onions into the pan and cook through until starting to soften, around 4 minutes

Add the aubergine, garlic, diced chill, chilli flakes and basil stalks to the pan and stir through

Continue cooking over a medium heat for about 7-10 minutes until the aubergine is tender

Add the tins of tomatoes to the pan and stir to combine

Bring some lightly salted water to the boil in another pan and add the dried pasta

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions

After around 10 minutes or when the pasta is almost cooked through

Add the ricotta to the tomato and vegetable mixture and stir to combine

Bring back to the boil and reduce to a simmer to heat thoroughly

Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir through

Serve with a sprinkling of sun flower seeds, a grating of vegetarian parmesan and the torn basil leaves

Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

Because it is cooked in just two pans, it saves on some washing up too – which mid-week is always a god thing, right? Plus, as you wait for the sauce to reduce, you can also have a cheeky glass of wine or tasty beverage of your choosing!

Just to let you know that the ricotta will break a little bit in the sauce (i.e. make it look a little dotty) but that is not a problem at all.  It is just the different textures of the sauces together – I promise that it is delicious and perfect as it is!

If you like it a bit spicier, then add an extra diced chilli at the beginning and an additional sprinkling of dried chilli flakes when you add the tomatoes – it’ll just give it that extra bit of warmth for the spice lovers!

Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe | Susty Meals | Sarah Irving

Even though this has a similar style to the ‘tried and tested by every restaurant ever’ roasted vegetable pasta, the chilli really lifts the flavour, the ricotta makes it just that little bit more luxurious and the seeds a little bit different.  Creamy chilli, tomato and aubergine pasta is easy and delicious, with some time for some wine! What’s not to like?

Here’s to the colder Autumnal evenings and any excuse for some comfort food!

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What pasta dishes do you enjoy?  Do you have a favourite go-to recipe?

Share in the comments!

 

Creamy Chilli, Tomato and Aubergine Pasta
Recipe Type: Pasta
Author: Sarah Irving | Susty meals
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A brilliant combination of creamy tomato, aubergine and chilli makes this a totally delicious mid-week dinner.
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely diced,
  • 2 aubergines, diced into 1 cm chunks
  • 1 fresh red chilli, finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 200 g tub of Ricotta cheese
  • a bunch of fresh basil, stalks finely chopped and leaves roughly chopped
  • sunflower seeds and vegetarian Parmesan
  • 300 g fusili pasta
Instructions
  1. Method:
  2. Heat the oil in a stock pot or large pan
  3. Chuck the onions into the pan and cook through until starting to soften, around 4 minutes
  4. Add the aubergine, garlic, diced chill, chilli flakes and basil stalks to the pan and stir through
  5. Continue cooking over a medium heat for about 7-10 minutes until the aubergine is tender
  6. Add the tins of tomatoes to the pan and stir to combine
  7. Bring some lightly salted water to the boil in another pan and add the dried pasta
  8. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions
  9. After around 10 minutes or when the pasta is almost cooked through
  10. Add the ricotta to the tomato and vegetable mixture and stir to combine
  11. Bring back to the boil and reduce to a simmer to heat thoroughly
  12. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir through
  13. Serve with a sprinkling of sun flower seeds, a grating of vegetarian parmesan and the torn basil leaves

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1 comment

Emma Louise ryan 27th September 2016 - 10:38 pm

That pasta dish looks amazing (I’m starving right now so this doesnt help haha)

I love a quick pasta dish so this would be good for after work

Good post 🙂

x

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