Eggplant & Sausage Pasta

This Sausage & Eggplant Pasta is a comforting dish that combines hearty ingredients with a rich, flavourful sauce. It’s perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner or for impressing guests with minimal effort.

This recipe combines juicy sausages, tender eggplant, and a rich tomato sauce for a meal that’s perfect any night of the week.

Why you’ll love this recipe

1. Simple and Quick: With just a few ingredients and minimal effort, you can have a delicious meal ready in no time.
2. Balanced: With a balance of protein from the sausages, fibre from the eggplant and peas, and carbs from the pasta, it’s a well rounded meal.

Tips for the perfect Sausage & Eggplant Pasta

1. Choose Good Quality Sausages: For the best flavour in your pasta, opt for high-quality sausages. Good sausages, like Italian varieties, often have visible specks of fat and seasonings.
2. Sauté the Sausages well: For the best texture and flavour, ensure the sausages are well-browned. This adds a depth of flavour to the sauce.
3. Pasta Perfection: To ensure your pasta stays al dente and doesn’t clump together, cook it until it’s just firm to the bite. Tossing it with a some olive oil before adding it to the sauce can also help to keep it from sticking.

Eggplant and Sausage Pasta

Course: Pasta

Servings

3 – 4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 250g pasta (I used rigatoni)

• 500g good quality Italian sausages, casings removed

• 1 eggplant, cubed

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 800g crushed tomatoes or tomato passata

• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes or a drizzle of chilli oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2-4 fresh basil leaves

• 1/2 cup frozen peas

• Garnish:

• Parmesan cheese

• Extra basil leaves

Directions

• Cook the pasta according to the packet directions, but reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the sausages, breaking them up with a spoon. Cook until well-browned.
• Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
• Stir in the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, chilli flakes (or chilli oil), eggplant, basil leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for about 25 minutes until the eggplant becomes soft, stirring occasionally.
• Add the peas and the cooked pasta, mix well. Cook for an additional 1 minute, then remove from heat.
• Serve immediately with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.