Chef notes
I like Mediterranean and Center Japanese cuisines, and this pasta bake boasts key flavors and substances from each. It is primarily a baba ghanoush, a Center Japanese eggplant-based dip, blended with hummus-infused pasta, and the choice so as to add slices of savory hen sausage and crumbles of salty feta to take it excessive. Better part except for the style? The whole lot comes collectively in a single 9-by-13-inch casserole dish so there’s much less to scrub up after you feast.
Method tip: It’s essential to avoid wasting 1 cup pasta water for the completed sauce.
Swap choice: Any variation of sausage works, from andouille to chicken-apple sausage.
Preparation
1.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
2.
Place eggplant cubes in casserole dish and drizzle on olive oil. Combine round to coat the eggplant items. Sprinkle on garlic powder and kosher salt and push to the outer perimeter to create a effectively within the middle. Add the roasted crimson pepper hummus to the open middle. Mist the eggplant with oil spray so the tops are glistening, and place the casserole dish within the oven (positioned on center rack) and bake for 25 minutes.
3.
Whereas it’s within the oven, slice poultry sausage hyperlinks into 1/4-inch discs. When the eggplant is on the 25-minute mark, open the oven and scatter the sausage items over the eggplant and hummus. Cook dinner one other 10 minutes to warmth the sausage and proceed to cook dinner/soften the eggplant.
4.
Take away casserole dish from oven. Stir every part collectively to create a thick, chunky sauce. Combine in cooked pasta, including in small increments of the reserved pasta water to create a wonderfully creamy and saucy consistency. It’s crucial to solely add 1/4 cup at a time, so you may cease once you attain a desired consistency. You’ll not want all the water.
5.
Season with salt and pepper to style. Garnish with herbs and optionally available crumbled feta cheese.
