eggplant fava bean pasta

Familiar scene. Coming home from work again. After three consecutive nights of creative cookery. And feeling lazy. For a moment we were considering dropping in on the in-laws, but ms_ani had said she had to do homework from her night course in statistics. Which dr bob never liked by the way. And to come, eat, and run might make them suspect we were just coming for the food and not the company. Of course it's both, but no need to increase potentially damaging speculation. Fortunately the dr had snagged an eggplant on the supermarket drive-by run the night before. And for protein, since we are part-time vegetarians and maybe not getting enough, the thought tuna-from-a-can entered our minds. But while checking out the cans, the middle eastern canned cooked fava beans popped into sight—even better since they don't come from something with a face and besides belong to a highly rated food category—legumes. Which when matched with grains makes complete protein. Or something.

ingredients

sauté group
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 T olive oil
everything else almost
several cloves garlic, pressed
1 can (14oz) cooked small fava beans
1 can (35oz) pomodori pelati (peeled italian plum tomatoes)
1 small can (2.2oz) chopped olives
1/2 c hot water
a few slivers of roasted pepper
black pepper to taste
red pepper to taste (not too much)
salt to taste
2 T fresh chopped parsley
except for the pasta
1 lb penne

instructions

  1. Start the pasta water boiling and when ready, salt and dump in the pasta. Cook al dente.
  2. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and eggplant in the olive oil.
  3. Add everything else (except for the pasta) and cook until the pasta is ready.
  4. Mix half in with the penne and save the other half for another lazy night.

notes

  1. This has a subtle attraction. Not an immediately sexy taste, but a satisfying gets you back for a big second helping flavor. We probably served this with freshly grated parmigiano, since this is routine for almost every pasta dish we consume.
egpfvpst.htm: 22-jan-2000 [what, ME cook? © 1984 dr bob enterprises]