Meal idea: Penne with Eggplant and Basil Pesto

This is our today's lunch dish.

We'd been eating meats whole week, so I just figured it's time to take a break from eating meat.

Penne with Eggplant and Basil Pesto

It's not a vegetarian food since I use Parmesan Cheese, but you can make it without cheese if you are vegetarian.
This was the second time I made pesto; last time I made arugula pesto.
And I truly wished we had a food processor...
I used a cheap blender for making the pesto, and I had to mix it several times to get the blender going.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients: 2 servings
Penne pasta or whatever short pasta you like for two
1 medium eggplant, cut into cubes
1 packed cup basil
1/8 cup roasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Salt and pepper

For the bail pesto:
Put basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper in a blender or food processor, and pulse them together until finely chopped.
Add olive oil while the machine running until pesto is smooth and thick.
Incorporate cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water

In a large skillet, cook eggplant with oil stirring occasionally until they turn golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and cool a bit.
Add the pesto and toss until the eggplant is coated.

Toss eggplant mixture and pasta together until everything is coated with pesto.
Thin out with pasta water, if needed.

Serve it with sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

My husband and I loved it!
I love basil pesto so this is a perfect dish for me.

Try it!!