One of my favorite ways to eat eggplant! Use any small pasta in interesting shapes like bowties, rotini, or seashells.
This was quite good. An interesting cominbation of flavors. As suggested by a previous reviewer, I used 5 cups chopped spinach. Another change I made was to "sweat" the eggplant before cooking. I find that I do not like the taste of eggplant unless I sweat it first. To do this, slice the eggplant into about 1/2 inch slices, sprinkle both sides of each slice generously with salt, and let sit for at least an hour. The eggplant should release a fair amount of liquid. When ready to cook, rinse off the eggplant slices and pat dry.
Read MoreMy thought is to purge the eggplant first, and allow the sweetness to come out. Peel and slice it as if you were about to cube or dice it. Lay the slices out on a cutting board or a cookie sheet, over a layer of paper towels. Lay out the eggplant slices, And lightly salt them. Turn them over and repeat. Cover with another layer of paper towels. Let stand for 15-25 minutes. rinse & pat dry. Dice or cube as needed and continue with recipe. I think it will help. :)
Read MoreThis was quite good. An interesting cominbation of flavors. As suggested by a previous reviewer, I used 5 cups chopped spinach. Another change I made was to "sweat" the eggplant before cooking. I find that I do not like the taste of eggplant unless I sweat it first. To do this, slice the eggplant into about 1/2 inch slices, sprinkle both sides of each slice generously with salt, and let sit for at least an hour. The eggplant should release a fair amount of liquid. When ready to cook, rinse off the eggplant slices and pat dry.
My thought is to purge the eggplant first, and allow the sweetness to come out. Peel and slice it as if you were about to cube or dice it. Lay the slices out on a cutting board or a cookie sheet, over a layer of paper towels. Lay out the eggplant slices, And lightly salt them. Turn them over and repeat. Cover with another layer of paper towels. Let stand for 15-25 minutes. rinse & pat dry. Dice or cube as needed and continue with recipe. I think it will help. :)
I couldn't disagree more with the prior review that only rated this recipe at one star. I made a few changes...added a bit more garlic, added half of a large diced onion, and thinly sliced a carrot to add beta carotene. I also used a parmesan-romano mixture instead of only parmesan. We will definitely make this again.
This recipe was fantastic. I hope everybody is realizing that the author probably meant "3/4 pounds of pasta", not 3/4 CUP. I used 3/4 pounds, and the ratio of veggies to pasta and cheese was great. This tasted like something I would be delighted to receive in a restaurant. I also doubled the spinach and used probably 2 tbsp lemon juice. I will make this as often as I can find a decent-looking eggplant!
This recipe is great! I halved it and used only 1 tablespoon of olive oil instead of the 2 that halving the recipe would've called for. I also used a little more spinach and a little less lemon juice than what was called for, but it had enough lemony flavor for me. I will definitely be making this recipe again in the future!
I only gave this 4 stars simply because my family doesn't care for eggplant. However, using zuchinni works very well. I also added onion and used the parmesan/romano mix. I reduced the lemon juice to 1 tbsp (3 was too strong for me). I'm going to try adding chicken or shrimp and see what happens!
My store had spinach and eggplant on sale, so I did an ingredient search and this recipe came up! It's a great use of eggplant. I did like another reviewer and "sweated" the eggplant. I used a microwave method I just read about in Cook's Illustrated (mix 1 cubed eggplant with 1 tsp kosher salt, line a plate with 2 layers of coffee filters and spray with cooking spray, microwave on high for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through). I left the skin on the eggplant and I used 6 cups of spinach because it cooks down so much. I used whole wheat rotini and threw in a handful of toasted pine nuts. Very tasty!
The eggplant needs a little more time to cook than 10 minutes...i would say five more minutes would do the trick...also i didnt think 3 cups of spinach was enough so i ended up adding more.
A superb mishmash of flavors! Next time I make this, I'm going to use about 5 cups chopped spinach (4 svgs) instead of 3. For those of you who don't like Parmesan cheese, stay away from this!
Washing and cutting the spinach is the hardest part of this recipe. Really, really easy. I added more butter and olive oil to the eggplant while it was cooking, but that's because I was paranoid it was going to burn. and I LOVED how the color of the spinach seemed to really pop when I added it to the pan. My fiance even told me to move this to the "keep folder", which is quite the compliment. And the best part? start to finish ion about half an hour.
My family loved this dish! I used lots of spinach as suggested and sweat the egg plant. The only thing I added was some sauteed shrimp! AND its SO EASY! We will make this lots...Thanks for sharing
I love eggplant (in any form) so I thought it was fantastic. I added 1 can drained canned corn (my husband's favorite) and basil. Yummy, totally yummy. I will make again and again and again. Thank you.
So good to see a healthy recipe that includes eggplant. So many have a lot of oil and are heavy. For my taste I added some hot pepper flakes and fresh herbs. thanks again to contributor.
This was a nice change of pace pasta dish! Based on the spotlight photo, I thought the dish contained SHRIMP, even though it's obviously not in the ingredient list (what can I say, I'm a visual learned!), so I'd planned to include (and did include) shrimp in my dish. I made a few changes: I subbed whole wheat linguini for bow ties (didn't have any) and used frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh and I didn't measure the garlic or eggplant, just diced and added. BTW-this was my first time w/eggplant, are you supposed to use the seeds/guts? I was unsure, so I left them out... Our dinner guests encountered traffic, so this had to sit for quite a bit before service (close to an hour) and it was STILL fantastic! I garnished w/some fresh grated fontinella cheese. TY for a great recipe, SPEARL!
This was very good. I didn't peel the eggplant but I let it sweat like in previous reviews. I also added a can of chicken when I added the spinach and it turned out great.
Simple and tasty! I didn't have spinach so I threw in some roasted red peppers, it was delicious!
This wasn't bad. I think I'd add a bit more lemon next time. Pretty quick for something different.
I first sweated the eggplant. I thought the amount of lemon was fine. I added an onion. I think I cooked the onion, garlic, eggplant on too high of a temperature because the onion and garlic began to burn. Will turn it down next time and cook a bit longer. Fantastic recipe!! I have also prepared the recipe without sweating the eggplant and the eggplant was too bitter and didn't do any justice to the meal. So... sweating the eggplant is important. Update: Now, after cooking this recipe many times.... I start cooking the eggplant and half way through it, I add the garlic and onion. This way the garlic and onion cook nicely without burning.
Delicious. I didn't peel the eggplant and next time may add mushrooms...really good dish!
The person who rated this 1 star may want to re-examine how they made this dish. I have made it several times from NY to Brazil always to rave reviews. Red peppers add to the dish. I usually bake up some chicken parts seasoned up with onions, garlic, black pepper, lemon and butter, the cut the chicken into strips and add it to the dish at the end. YUM! today I will try shrimp sauteed in lemon and butter.
This recipe is a keeper! I was cooking for two so used only 6 oz of pasta, rather than 12 oz, left everything else the same and loved the resulting proportions, and I had yummy leftovers. I sweated/purged the eggplant first. For lemon juice, I simply used half a lemon, which was perfect. It is lemony but to me that nice strong flavor was nice. Thanks for this recipe!!!
This is REALLY good! It is a beautiful dish with great taste. It's a different way to prepare eggplant, and the combination of the eggplant, spinach, and cheese is excellent! My husband didn't seem to like it much, but he isn't a huge fan of eggplant and loves meat. The only change I might make is to add some toasted pine nuts. I think that might put this dish over the top!
First time cooking with eggplant! I made the recipe as is and thought it was a little bland for my tastes. Maybe another TB of lemon juice or another clove of garlic? It was good, it just needed a little more OOMPH! Maybe red pepper flakes? The hubster was noncommittal about it - "It's ok" and didn't go back for seconds. But he was being kind of grumpy anyway, so we'll see what he thinks next time I make it! :)
Very easy recipe. My family loved it! Definitely needed to add more spinach. I agree with others who "sweat" the eggplant first. This recipe is a keeper!
We loved it. I did make same changes. i added auted mushrooms and 1/2 lb. shrimp. I took othere viewer changes too, I "sweated"the eggplant, used 3/4 lb pasta, added alot more spinach and reduced lemon juice to 2 tbsp though I'll do 3 next time. and used 3/4 cup parm in dish then sprinkled a little more on each plate as I served it. very good!
The recipe on its own, without adding any other vegetables or spices is very bland and doesn't taste interesting. Very easy to make, but not worth the effort.
I loved this dish! I took the advice of a few other members and purged the eggplant for an hour. Also used 4 cups of spinach. I will definitely be keeping this around and cooking it again!
I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. All of the flavors went together perfectly. I cut down on the oil and left out the butter. I only wish I had used 3 times as much spinach! The lemon juice added a great finish. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE eggplant, but this recipe just didn't blend for me. Perhaps if you are a vegetarian it would be good for you since it is filling, but I didn't like the combination of the pasta and spinach with the eggplant. Perhaps preparing just the eggplant would be OK... but I can't see that I'd ever think of serving it to company, and that's one of my criteria for a good dish. Rating it a one means I threw it out and rating it a two means I ate it but don't think I even want to save the recipe.
I loved this recipe. I found it super easy to throw together for dinner. My room mate is vegan and this is a great recipe for that, I just left the cheese on the side. Definitely needed more spinach than said in the recipe, but it was easy to just add more to the mixture.
This recipe kicks butt! It was easy to make and super tasty. I added some zucchini along with the eggplant and used two whole bunches of spinach. So good!
I did as suggested with the egg plant and let it sit for 1 hr. , added twice the spinach. It was fabulous! Don't forget to cook 3/4 lb. pasta....
I thought this recipe was terrific. I added red onion as others had suggested and also used shredded parmesan cheese rather than the grated. Was able to use a very large bunch of spinach as well. (I thought measuring it in cups was sort of odd.) Perfect! Will keep this recipe handy!
My husband and I loved this dish. I took the advice of another cook who made this and it was wonderful. I also added a half of a large onion, five cups of spinach and thank goodness I came across that it is 3/4 POUND of bow tie and not 3/4 CUP. I am passing this on to my daughters. Thank you SPEARL30
This was OK. It wasn't bad, but pretty bland despite garlic, cheese and lemon juice. I give it 3 stars because I had expected more, as the ingredients were so wonderful and the recipe sounded so great... If you make pasta often, this is a good way to introduce some variety. I used mafalda instead of farfalle (it's similar, and I don't think it matters much anyway). I may make it again, but not any time soon.
We enjoyed this with fresh eggplant from the farmer's market. To lighten it up a bit I used 1/2 the amount of cheese called for in the recipe.
This kick-butt recipe was a hit with my boyfriend. I did, however make some changes thus: (a) 2c dry pasta; (b) 350g frozen chopped spinach as no fresh; (c) added a small dollop of sour cream to the whole mixture just before serving, to help the spinach be more creamy.
Fantastic taste! As the reviews suggested, I too added 5 cups of spinach and I also doubled the amount of farfalle. Maybe it was just because the dish was so good, but I barely got 3 servings out of it. Next time I will double the recipe.
Great! Made as written with rice pasta and it was super scrumptious! I agree with other reviews that more spinach would be better.
really like this recipe. Made as is. Husband thought it was very good, but would have preferred it as a side. I liked as a meal. will make again. easy to double (used up eggplant from garden)
Delicious!!! I made a few changes to use up what was in the fridge. Didn't sweat the eggplants and it came out fine (but did end up adding a dash of chicken broth during cooking). However, I used several small Japanese eggplants instead of a medium sized one. Added more garlic, sliced red onion, cubed summer squash (didn't have spinach), minced fresh parsley/oregano, crushed red pepper flakes (for some kick) and shrimp. Left out the butter. Served with squid ink spaghetti. Added another dash of olive oil and minced fresh herbs right before serving. Will definitely make again!
I decided to use this recipe as part of a healthy diet, and loved it! Following the many reviewers' advice, I "sweat" the egg plant prior to cooking. Since I did it on a whim and didn't have everything on hand, I used some bad pre-minced garlic, onion salt and a dash of lemon pepper. I will probably try the real deal next time I make it for kicks, but these substitutions worked fine. Once the whole thing was plated, I added a dollop of low-fat sour cream, per another suggestion. Amazing! Next time I will probably just add the sour cream to the mixture during cooking to make it an ever-so-slightly creamy sauce. Great on whole wheat rotini. This would be great served on top of chicken, too! Great recipe!!!
A very good basic recipe, it didn't knock my socks off, but could be very flexible. Next time I'll add some fresh basil.
I loved this quick simple pasta dish! Very flavourful. I will definitely use it again!
Lovely, quick, easy dish. Just what I need on a week night when there's spinach to be used up in the fridge. The garlic did burn quite badly so I'd suggest more butter or throwing the eggplant in at the same time. I added a bit of sour cream to the mixture to make it creamier, without it it was a bit dry. What really makes the sauce though is the lemon, suits the eggplant and spinach so smoothly, it really rounds out the flavours and saves the dish from mediocracy. Added plenty of parm. Gobbled it up. Thanks.
Kind of bland without basil, oregano and other spices... but the eggplant was fine even without peeling it, I guess it just depends whether you like the taste with or without the peel!
I was so looking forward to this recipe and was so disappointed. I don't know if it's because I used frozen spinach (I didn't have fresh) but I really didn't like it, and I'm pretty easy going with my tastes - I'll eat almost anything. The flavour was just OK, the spinach was rough and chewy, the eggplant got "lost" in all the other ingredients so you didn't really taste it.
My boyfriend and I LOVE spinach, so we used 6 cups. I did sweat the eggplant first for about 30 minutes. I added the garlic to the eggplant after the first 5 minutes of cooking to make sure it didn't burn. I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and it was perfectly lemony but a little dry. So I added about 1/2 cup of pasta water. This dish is fantastic. We'll be making this very often!
Super yummy! I added mushrooms, and some thyme to everything else just because I love mushrooms! It was wonderful. Will definitely make again when I have eggplant lying around
Super Tasty!! I followed the advice of others and sweated out the eggplant. Just diced it into 1" cubes, laid the pieces on paper towels salted them and laid more paper towels on top for about an hour. Then rinsed with cold water and patted dry. Worked out perfectly. The only other changes I made: We used whole wheat penne pasta and romano cheese (freshly grated). I also never measure when I cook. I don't know how much cheese I used, but I'd lable it 'plenty.' Delicious dish!! Thanks for sharing!
This was fantastic! Quick, easy and impressive! We will add this to our list of favorite ways to eat eggplant. We had it as a main dish, but would work nicely as a side to grilled chicken. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I really liked this recipe. I have never cooked eggplant in this way before and it is nice to have a quick and easy recipe option to use it. I am a recent (since last Thanksgiving) vegetarian and eggplant has become very popular in our house! I will be making this again.
LOVED this! Took reviewer advice to sweat the eggplant and upped the garlic, spinach, lemon juice and pasta to taste and to serve more. I also added the garlic after the first 5 mins of cooking the eggplant to preserve its flavor.
Very good! Definitely sweat the eggplant first. I added a bunch of sliced baby bella mushrooms and some onion, and served with whole grain penne - although I think I would have preferred bowties as suggested here. The lemon gave it a nice fresh flavor, and next time I will add a bit of sour cream as someone else suggested. Nice to have a tomato-free eggplant/pasta dish for a change!
A tasty dish -- something different. I used other reviewers advice to sweat the eggplant. Delicious!
This was good. I followed the advice of other reviewers and let the eggplant sweat for 1 hour prior to cooking it. The eggplant was not bitter at all. I added about 3 1/2 cups of spinach--I probably would add more next time. The dish has a great lemon flavor--the flavors come together nicely!
My family -- even my picky two-year-old -- loved it! And so quick and easy to make! Also, very forgiving of adding or subtracting to personal tastes. (We added extra cheese and spinach.)
I added red pepper flakes, would like to try cheddar shaved, or feta next time.
This was so unbelievable!...I prepared the Eggplant the way other people suggested (peeled, sliced, salted both sides and let set on paper towel for 2hrs)....I added mushrooms and more garlic. I also halved the Parm. cheese w/ Romano cheese and added some grated parm. cheese to it at the end...I will def. make again...This is a Keeper in my book :)
Good stuff. I added some chicken and used feta instead of parmesan. A tasty, easy alternative use for eggplant.
I have never made eggplant before. I used some basil linguine I got from my mom when she visited Italy and it added another layer. Wonderful... usually make recipe as stated, but didn't have any other pasta on hand. Otherwise made as written and it was wonderful. Would agree to add more spinach next time. Excellent.
Delicious! I used half of a lemon's juice and the flavor was great! Added tomatoes and left out the cheese. I was still impressed!
Delicious! We added oregano for extra flavor. Next time we will add even more spinach and pasta. Terrific recipe!
My husband is lactose intolerant so I omitted the butter and Parmesan cheese and added some mushrooms in with the eggplant. I also added extra spinach because it cooks down so much! This turned out to be a nice, light, fresh-tasting pasta, perfect for summer.
I LOVED this recipe, even though I don't care for eggplant. My husband also like it, though not as much, thus the four stars. Even the kids ate it!
-the lemon gives it a weird taste
I agree that you def need more spinach than the recipe called for. I also did about 5c. It's surprisingly flavorful for a recipe does not call for any other seasoning than the salt and pepper. Healthy and definitely a repeat. I did not add the butter and did not miss it.
This was an excellent recipe and we had it as a side dish, but could be the main coarse...It was great
I have never made eggplant before. I used some basil linguine I got from my mom when she visited Italy and it added another layer. Wonderful... usually make recipe as stated, but didn't have any other pasta on hand. Otherwise made as written and it was wonderful. Would agree to add more spinach next time. Excellent.
Quite yummy. Eggplant (after being salted/rinsed) takes on the citrus flavor of the sauce, and seems to be hidden in plain sight. Can easily add chopped up zucchini, next I'm going to try adding chopped mushrooms too.
Love this recipe! It's easy to adjust to accommodate to individual tastes, i.e., more or less garlic, additional spinach, etc. When I use eggplant from the store, I salt the cubes and let them sit for about 20 minutes to draw out the bitterness. However, it is not necessary when using locally grown, in-season eggplant. Thanks for a great recipe.
Everyone loved this recipe. I did change a few things because I didn't have spinach. I grated 2 med. zucchini (for spinach), 3 small eggplant and 2 cups of uncooked elbows. Used a bit more cheese. Added some leftover chopped cooked chicken on top. Worked really well and will try again with spinach. A great way to use up garden vegetables.
This is an awesome recipe. I made this on Monday night for my family and it was a total success. The recipe calls for 3/4 c of pasta which can't be right. I cooked about .5 - 3/4 lb and it was just right. Try this one you'll love it!!!!! :^)
OMG! DELICIOUS! I did not sweat the eggplant and it came out perfectly fine. I used the entire 1 lb. box of farfalle pasta so my dish was a bit short on sauce. So next time I'm going to double the sauce. Oh yes! There WILL be a next time. My husband raved about this dish, helping himself to seconds. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe, Spearl20. Can't wait for the leftovers!
I loved this. Seriously, really loved it! I would love to lighten it up a little. I think next time I will try cutting the oil in half. This ended up being 2 dinner size srvings for us it would probably be 4 side dish servings. Update: I make this all the time with 1/2 the oil and no butter and it still turns out great.
i put in 5 cups of spinache, which was good. Next time I will also add mushrooms. Instead of the cheese, I put in leftover chicken from my soup. It was good.
Very good! I added onion and shredded chicken and it was amazing. Boyfriend couldn't stop commenting about how good it was. I will be making this again and again.
This was tasty. After reading the other reviews, I also added an onion and sweated the eggplant before cooking it. Due to cholesterol issues, I used benecol instead of butter and served the Parmesan on the side.
This recipe was a hit with my family and was easy to prepare. I increased ingredients by about 25% so we would have leftovers. I tossed the drained pasta in 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water, a healthy drizzle of olive oil, and about a Tbsp. of raw garlic before combining with the eggplant, spinach, and parmesan mixture. This worked well.
Wonderful recipe. I took the reviewers' advice to sweat the eggplant. I measured everything by eye and added a zucchini to the mix and an italian cheese blend besides just the parm cheese. I will make this again! Everyone in the family enjoyed it.
