Mediterranean Pasta

This is Pete's absolute favourite pasta recipe, and it certainly ranks in my top ten. I made it on a whim one night, when we were down to very few ingredients. He doesn't enjoy tomato-ey pasta sauces too much, but this is a clear exception. The eggplants and butter beans really make this, in my opinion. 

Mediterranean Pasta - recipe:

1 tbsp oil (olive oil, or a scoop from the sundried tomatoes / grilled eggplants)

1 onion (optional)

1 cup mushrooms

2 zucchini

2 tomatoes (tomatoes that are about to spoil are great for this)

½ capsicum (or whole, if your partner isn’t a capsicum hater)

1 can butter beans

1 250g jar of grilled eggplant (with oil)

8 pieces of sundried tomatoes

300g pasta sauce

Pasta of choice (Gluten-free penne works a treat!)

1. Drizzle the oil in the pan on high in a large frying pan, and start to prepare pasta (set to microwave, or boil the kettle to add to a saucepan or soup-pot with the pasta).


2.  Fry the mushrooms and onion if using for two minutes. Add the zucchini, stirring occasionally for eight minutes (during this time, if you’re boiling your pasta, it should be ready for draining).


3. Add the capsicum and tomatoes to the frying pan and stir. While cooking, quickly drain the beans, chop the sundried tomatoes into halves, and the eggplant into rough quarters, and add after five minutes.


4. Stir for two minutes before adding the pasta sauce, then let the sauce heat. Serve immediately.

If using gluten-free pasta, always drain immediately, and blast it with hot water from the tap, mixing it around. This prevents it from sticking.