Penne and caponata with eggplant and artichokes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 350g penne
• 1 onion(s), red
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 stalk(s) Celery
• 1 eggplant(s)
• 500 g cherry tomatoes
• 3 artichoke bottoms
• 350 ml vegetable stock
• 40 g pine nuts
• 60 g capers
• 1 organic orange(s)
• 30 g raisins
• 1 small chili pepper(s), e.g. Piri Piri
• 1 rosemary sprig(s)
• 4 tarragon leaves
• olive oil
• Sugar
• salt and pepper
• 2 slices of ginger
• n. B. Fresh basil leaves for garnishing

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

simple and vegetarian

Preheat the oven to 220°C (top/bottom heat). Cut the artichoke bottoms into eighths and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Cut the eggplant into approximately 1.5 cm cubes and place them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt and olive oil and place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Stir after 15 minutes and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes. In a pan, first toast the pine nuts without oil until golden brown, then let them cool on a plate. Cut the celery stalks diagonally into approximately 1 cm wide strips. Add a little oil to the pan and fry the celery strips until they begin to brown. Then remove them and set aside on a plate. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, add the rosemary sprig, tarragon leaves, 2 garlic cloves halved lengthwise, the ginger slices, the chili pepper, and the cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with a little sugar. Then fry the tomatoes until the sugar on the bottom of the pan caramelizes with the escaping tomato juice. Meanwhile, halve the onion and slice into thin strips, and thinly slice the two remaining garlic cloves. Remove the caramelized tomatoes from the pan, along with the rosemary, tarragon, garlic cloves, and chili pepper (you won’t use anything else except the tomatoes). Sauté the eggplant and artichoke bottoms again until hot, then reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic slices. Deglaze with the vegetable stock, add the halved capers, raisins, tomatoes, and fried celery strips to the pan. Meanwhile, cook the penne according to the package instructions and strain. Finely grate the zest of the washed and dried orange and juice the orange. Add the orange zest and orange juice to the pan, according to taste, and season with salt and pepper. Serve on a plate with the pasta and garnish with basil leaves and toasted pine nuts.