I had some eggplant from my Farm Table box that I needed to use so I came up with this way to use it. It’s a nice vegetarian recipe as long as cheese and noodles are OK for you. (Even my meat eating husband thought it was good…though he would still prefer it anything more with meat.) Egg plant is a good hearty vegetable that serves as a good meat substitute in terms of taste. Not sure though about complete proteins from this meal, so you may want to look it up.

Cook eggplant, onion, and spices till tender in saucepan with olive oil. You can peel the eggplant first if you don’t like the tougher skin. I left that on and it didn’t bother me. Meanwhile boil pasta. Any will do but I like whole wheat.
Eggplant and Zucchini Mixture…cook in olive oil till tender.
When veggies are just tender add one 15oz. can of tomato sauce (low sodium preferred). While pasta is boiling let sauce simmer on low and allow spices to blend. Test and add more spices if needed, slat and pepper to taste.

Drain pasta and put in shallow 9×12 baking dish with non stick spray. Pour in sauce and mix.Top with Italian cheese. Bake for 15-20 min or until cheese is melted.

This was a really hearty meal and had excellent flavor even with out any meat. I think it would be a great recipe for those of us who are Catholic to make during Lent who need to feed a large family without any meat.