Penne with eggplant, tomatoes and basil

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 300 g penne (or other pasta, e.g. rigatoni)
• 1 m.-large eggplant(s)
• 150 g tomatoes, peeled (from the can if necessary)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
• 50 g Parmesan, Pecorino
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 chili pepper(s), red
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

as a side dish to a meat dish

Wash the eggplant and cut into approximately 1 cm cubes. Peel the garlic, deseed and rinse the chili pepper, and chop both. Crush the tomatoes with a fork. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the eggplant until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic, chili pepper, and tomatoes and simmer. Cook the penne in plenty of salted water (approx. 20 g salt per liter) until al dente, drain well, and mix with the basil and the eggplant/tomato mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan and/or Pecorino cheese, garnishing with basil leaves if desired. Enjoy!