spicy aubergine pasta
Enjoying and embracing a balanced healthy diet means there is a place for everything and that’s exactly why a good pasta recipe or two is essential for those weekends when comfort food and family crowd pleasers are required. Rather than a white refined pasta, we like to make use of all the delicious different varieties of pasta you can now buy - brown rice, chickpea or lentil. The base for this is vegetarian and full of gorgeous mediterranean vegetables and flavours and so a little chopped chorizo works wonders added to it.
ingredients
serves 4
2-3 medium aubergines
400g tin finely chopped tomatoes
Brown rice pasta ( we like Doves Farm Organic)
2 large handful of fresh spinach ( frozen spinach works too)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 heaped tablespoon tagine paste ( we love to use Belazu)
1 fresh chilli
2 tablespoon tamari sauce
3-4 tablespoon olive oil
Black pepper
Optional extras:
Chorizo, diced or sliced (add at same time as tagine paste)
Chickpeas, cooked and drained (add at same time as spinach)
Grated parmesan to serve
method
prep time: 30mins
cook time: 30mins
Clean and chop the aubergines into chunks. Place into a colander in the sink, sprinkle with sea salt to draw out the moisture, and set aside for around 20 minutes.
Rinse the aubergine and pat dry with kitchen paper.
Add a splash of olive oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat.
Once hot, add the garlic and chilli and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the aubergines and tamari sauce, stir and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Stir in the tagine paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Finally add the chopped tomatoes and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
At that stage, cook your choice of pasta in a pan of boiling salted water until al dente.
Drain the pasta and reserve a cupful of the starchy cooking water.
Add the starchy water to the sauce and stir well cooking for another 5 minutes.
Stir spinach through until wilted.
Add cooked pasta and mix well.
Adjust seasoning.
Plate up.
the health boost tip
There is absolutely a place for a great pasta dish in any balanced nutritious diet. I choose brown rice pasta because it’s naturally gluten free and high in fibre. It also has a great texture and it’s taken me a lot of testing various brands so do have a try!
Please do try aubergines, as purple fruits or vegetables are often missing in our diets. Aubergines are an excellent source of dietary fibre. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. It is also high in the minerals copper, magnesium and manganese. Aubergines are rich in antioxidants, specifically nasunin found in the aubergine skin - which gives it its purple colour.
