Grand Cayman and Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

We just returned from a vacation in Grand Cayman and we were probably the only people on the island that didn't visit their major tourist attraction "Stingray City" because the thought of hundreds of stingrays swimming around our legs just didn't appeal to us.  We did go to a much calmer attraction which was the turtle farm.  Here's what we saw. 

The food was amazing and we ate fish the whole vacation.  There was turtle offered on a few menus but after going to the turtle farm there was no way any of us were going to order that.  Even if we didn't go to the turtle farm none of us would have ordered it anyway. 

My youngest daughter is continuing her vegetarian ways so we made this for dinner when we got home.  It was a nice break from all the fish we had eaten all week long on vacation.  The dish was light and summery and we used an eggplant and pepper from our garden.  You can make it very spicy if you wish but we chose not to. 

Ingredients:

Red Pepper Sauce
3/4 tsp olive oil
medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large roasted red pepper (the jarred kind is fine)
28 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt & black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or more if more spicyness is desired

Eggplant and Red Pepper Pasta
3/4 tsp olive oil
1 small eggplant, chopped into cubes
1 large red pepper sliced into 1-1/2" pieces (I used an orange pepper)
1/2 pound penne pasta

In bowl of food processor, pulse roasted red pepper until relatively smooth and set aside.

In a spagetti pot with salted water, cook pasta according to pasta directions.  In another large stock pot  heat oil and add diced onion and cook until translucent.  Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Add pureed red peppers and chopped tomatoes and heat until starting to bubble.  Turn heat to a simmer and add remaining ingredients for sauce - lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.   

In a non stick pan heat oil over medium heat.  Add eggplant and cook stirring constantly until it becomes tender about 10 minutes.  Add red or orange pepper and continue until pepper becomes tender about 3-4 minutes. 

Add red pepper sauce to sauteed vegetables and bring to a slight simmer.  Add pasta and stir to combine.

Recipe from cooklikeachampionblog.com

Enjoy!   Susan