Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Eggplant

The Pioneer Woman makes this dish when her husband is out of town. Happily, my husband loves eggplant. We had some eggplant in the fridge we needed to use up, so we decided to make this recipe.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small eggplants
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used pasta sauce from a jar)
Fresh basil (I used dried)
1/2 package fusilli, about 1/2 lb. (I used whole wheat penne)
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Slice eggplant into round slices. Sprinkle one side with salt and allow to stand or 15 minutes. Turn over and repeat. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook onion and garlic until starting to turn color, about 5 minutes.

Add eggplant, stirring gently. Cook for 8 minutes, or until somewhat tender.

Dump in canned tomatoes (or pasta sauce) and reduce heat to simmer. Add salt and pepper and simmer until eggplant is tender. Toss in cooked pasta and chopped basil. Stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serves 2.