July 2008

Menu of the Month
Recently I traveled to Italy with a group to study the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. One of the highlights of our study tour was an opportunity to eat dinner with an Italian family. The hostess for my group was a single woman who taught at Florence University of Arts. For the first course she made a frittata with zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese. While my
attempts to duplicate this recipe have not yet been successful, her second course of a casserole of eggplant baked with pasta in a tomato sauce has been easier to recreate.

Below is my version which I’ve named in honor of our hostess in Italy. The topping of bread crumbs adds a bit of crunch which contrasts nicely with the textures of pasta, eggplant and cheese. A salad of mixed greens lightly dressed with vinegar and extra virgin olive oil makes a great accompaniment as does a glass of dry red wine. Salut!

Patrizia’s Pasta and Eggplant Casserole
Cooking spray
1 small to medium eggplant, peeled and diced
3 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 ounces penne or similarly shaped pasta, preferably whole wheat
½ cup onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced


In a nonstick skillet, sauté eggplant in 2 tablespoons olive oil until barely tender. Remove to bowl. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Be sure not to overcook.

In same skillet in which eggplant was cooked, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil and sauté onion until almost translucent. Add garlic to skillet and sauté one more minute. Stir in spaghetti sauce and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in prepared eggplant and cooked, drained pasta.

Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Layer half of eggplant mixture in baking pan. Top with basil and cheeses, then remaining eggplant mixture. Mix breadcrumbs with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle over top of baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly around edges and crumbs have browned.

Makes 8 servings. Nutrition information per serving: 248 calories, 11g protein,
22g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 15g fat, 597mg sodium.