Recipe: Greens Restaurant Fettuccine with Roasted Eggplant, Peppers and Basil

FETTUCCINE WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT, PEPPERS AND BASIL

1 lb uncooked fettuccine pasta
1 1/2 lb eggplant(s) (whole)
6 tbsp virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
20 Nicoise or Gaeta olives pitted and chopped
1/2 cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 bell peppers, red or yellow, roasted, cut in strips*
1 cup bread crumbs
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prick eggplant in several places and then bake the whole eggplant(s) until they are wrinkled and soft, about 20 minutes. (Cooking time will depend on the size of the eggplants.) Turn them once halfway through cooking.

Let the eggplant(s) cool a few minutes, then slit them open and peel away the skins. Shred or tear the eggplants into pieces and combine them with olive oil, garlic, olives and half the basil. Add the roasted pepper strips. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Toss breadcrumbs with enough oil to moisten them and toast them in a hot oven (400 degrees) until they are crisp and golden. Remove and set aside.

When you are ready to cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Transfer the eggplant-pepper mixture to a large skillet and warm gently over low heat.

Add pasta to water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and add it to the vegetable mixture, stirring gently to combine. Add the remaining basil leaves and season to taste with salt, freshly ground pepper and splash of vinegar.

Divide pasta among four plates. Garnish each with breadcrumbs and pass around the grated cheese.

*TO ROAST PEPPERS:
Set whole peppers just beneath a preheated broiler. Turn, using long-handled tongs, until all sides are charred black. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. When peppers are cool enough to handle, pull off blackened skins, and remove cores, seeds and veins. Cut into strips about 1/4-inch wide.

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: The Greens Cook Book by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown