eggplant tomato pasta sauce
Those who have young kids know how difficult it sometimes can be to get them to eat vegetables — although I think we’ve been pretty lucky so far with ours. G (who is currently 2.5 years old) went through a phase of despising 90% of all vegetables, but always kept liking his favorites: cucumber, avocado (okay, technically a fruit), tomato (also technically a fruit!) and peas. D (who is currently 9 months old) still LOVES anything and everything I serve him, but I know that he will probably hit the picky phase soon. They all do. And they all outgrow it. A good pasta sauce like this one comes in handy for the times when your kids are hating on vegetables. You can serve it as is, or blend it up if they’re being extra picky. This sauce can be easily kept in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen and used anytime. It’s also delicious as a side dish with roasted chicken, meat or fish!
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large eggplant, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 400g canned crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon chill flakes, optional
- 10 black pitted olives, chopped
- Fresh basil, chopped
- In a colander, let the eggplant sit with salt for about 20 minutes to remove the bitterness.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the eggplant until golden, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, water, bay leaf, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, chill flakes, olives and basil. Cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid evaporates and the sauce becomes thick.
- Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning. Serve with warm pasta or as a side dish.