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Sarah |
74. kastinkerbell |
For somebody purporting to be an Italian cooking expert with an Italian mother, she sure does pronounce a lot of Italian words incorrectly (per a native speaker I had as a teacher). She also repeats a lot of bogus cooking “theory.” I generally like to take ideas from her and “fix” them. |
Give me Mario any day. |
75. I happen to love Giada…and being married to an Italian, I know her food is authentic and truly “everyday” Italian cooking. On the ether hand, I cannot watch Ina…I like Rachel and have tried several of her recipes. I love to watch Paula…but couldn’t cook and eat her recapes because of my dietary restrictions. |
76. I tried it with one portobella mushroom, and 1/2 pkg dried porchini’s. I also cut the red pepper in half, and sadly that was all I could taste. My husband said “Is this from cooks illustrate?” When I said no, he just shook his head sadly, and looked at me in knowing way… |
I’m going to try it again, and only put in a 1/4 of a teaspoon of the pepper flakes–its just too easy to give up on! |
77. Gillian |
I made this last night – and didn’t really taste the mint. I was bummed about that. It was a bit too spicy. I don’t think I’ll make it again… but your site is great and I’ll be back! G |
78. Pam |
My husband and I both like Giadi and it is confusing to me why someone would or would-not cook a recipe because of who presents it on Food Network. Mario B, seems like a butt, but his food looks and sounds wonderful and that is why I try his recipes; sometimes (his recipes are a bit overwhelming at times). As for t... |
79. fay |
We just had this for dinner and it was WONDERFUL! and easy. Thanks for the idea! I added 1/4 of an onion with the veggies for roasting, just because I seem to find it impossible to cook without them. I will definitely make this again – I was just trying to think of summertime garden-fresh adaptations to make. |
80. Della |
I have a sink full of dishes, but my dishes will wait until I post this message. I sometimes like to cook ahead for the entire week, so I just completed this recipe. I doubled the eggplant puree mixture just in case my pasta needs more sauce since I’m using 100% whole-grain with flax PENNE pasta (not rigatoni). I f... |
81. I ♥ Giada, and not in an altogether innocent way. Let’s just say that I would gladly be the filling in a Giada and Nigella sandwich. And I’m not even into chicks! Dammit, Food Network gets me every time … |
I agree though that her recipes are simple at best, but usually look downright delicious. This one has got me cravin’, and for once I might venture out from Rachael Ray’s vodka-creme pasta. Now there’s a woman I would *not* like to meet between the sheets, but that’s a whole ‘nother story! |
By the way, I love your blog. Cheers! :-) |
82. I made this tonight. It was quite good. I tried adding some balsalmic with the puree… I’d use red wine vinegar or lemon next time — it was a bit too sweet and not bright enough. I also might only puree half of the eggplant/tomato/roasted goodness, to end up with a chunkier sauce. I used brandywine heirloom tomato... |
83. Verydeliciousveg |
There I was surfing for dinner ideas and WHAM! I already had roasted eggplant and roasted cherry tomatoes the needed to be eaten soon. I threw a few garlic cloves into the oven to roast, boiled some pasta heated the leftover eggplant and tomatoes, then spun it up with the roasted garlic cloves…. toasted a hand full... |
THANK YOU for the inspiration!!! |
PS your oatmeal raisin cookies were a huge hit at my office. |
:) |
84. rose |
Made this last night – yummy with your changes. I did use red wine vinegar and I roasted a head of garlic in the skin and used more than a few cloves (also used pecorino romano (sp?) and forgot the pine nuts). My puree was a bit too pureed, next time I might only puree half like another reviewer said…a chunkier sau... |
85. grace |
So delicious! Didn’t have cherry tomatoes so pureeing with canned stewed tomatoes worked fine (although I’d imagine roasted cherry tomatoes would be even tastier!) Loved the burnt goodness of the pine nuts … didn’t think it would make a big difference but together with the freshly grated parmesan, it really brought... |
86. Rachel P. |
I was a bit unsure about eggplant, but now I’m sold! As my husband says, this is possibly one of the best pasta dishes we’ve ever eaten. The mint and pine nuts are definitely the key ingredients, that take a bland-looking dish into a whole other world! |
87. Jennifer |
I made this using the only tomatoes I had on hand, which were two Roma’s. Rather than puree it though, I left the roasted mixture chunky. I sauteed a pan of ground turkey with chopped red onions, and added a can of diced tomatoes. Mixed everything together and tossed with penne. It was so delish I had it for lunch ... |
88. Grace |
Made this tonight – absolutely fantastic! I used balsamic vinegar at the end – I think I’d like to try with lemon juice next time. |
89. Toni |
Nice call about stopping the dissing of female appearances. But I really wanted to write and comment on your comment in the first paragraph: “(busted!)” I say, that just had me on the floor! Perfectly subtle, heehee! |
Oh, and eggplant being my top fav veggie, this looks/sounds much like my eggplant stew (although I use cumin and coriander as well) that I make probably every two weeks, not because I’m boring but because I love it so. I’ve been too insecure to share it with friends, though, because of the unprettiness of it but ma... |
Always the best blog, Deb. |
90. Kelly |
I made this last night and it was great! Very easy and tasty. I did not have pine nuts in the house so I simply left them out. I also substituted parsley for the mint because it was what I already had. It made plenty of sauce to generously coat a full box of pasta. Looking forward to making this in the summer when ... |
91. Oh my goodness. |
I was looking for a different recipe and happened on to this page! |
This looks amazing. |
I’m going to have to make it. But I think I will actually substitute the lemon juice at the end for a bit of gin, and a glug of heavy cream in the food processor… |
I’m looking forward to how this will be… |
But maybe I’ll try the original first. Either way, I’m sure I’ll be in heaven. |
Thanks for this wonderful idea. |
92. Elisa Nadeau |
I made this tonight- thought it was great. I used fatter tomatoes (Caponata? Or something) and found the sauce quite tasty and juicy without adding the vinegar or lemon. |
93. Adrianne |
Holy moly! I read the comments to find out ahead of time how to make the sauce a little “saucier”. Since all the comments seem to be related to the Food Network, and not the recipe, I solved the issue by adding two (drained, juice saved and added later) cans of diced tomatoes to the roasting pan. |
Re Food network celebrities: If Giada or whomever else bugs you, what do you expect? These are celebrities selling personality, not chefs selling recipes. Going to the Food Network for great culinary expertise is like reading Cosmo for “feminism”. They are products, nothing more. |
94. Kelly B |
I made this recipe last week and it didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. The vinegar couldn’t break up the gluey texture that the eggplant seemed to create. Maybe I didn’t roast the veggies enough – or maybe I didn’t salt the pasta water enough. This one wasn’t a winner for me. :( |
95. This was delicious! The only thing I changed is that I used four large chopped tomatoes and some red onion also went in the roasting pan. The tomatoes provided plenty of juice to make the sauce, so much so I didn’t need any pasta water. |
I think this also could be tasty with some crumbled feta…maybe next time |
96. auspish32 |
Oh my goodness. This was soo delicous. I don’t get why you think this is ugly. The eggplant has a meatiness to it so the pureed product looks like a bolognese sauce, which equals delicious and decadent, but not ugly. I always forget to save my pasta water and ended up just adding a little extra lemon juice combined... |
97. I know that this was posted millions of years ago, but I had stumbled on it by clicking the random button and it was begging to be cooked. I thought this was delicious…and not too terribly ugly. :) |
I have had the non-saucy sauce problem before, but not so with this one. I used an immersion blender to blend the eggplant and tomatoes, then I added about a cup & a half of pasta water. It seems like so much, but it turned out the be the perfect consistency. I also lightly drained the pasta so there was still a li... |
And I upped the garlic because I am an addict. My shame won’t allow me to tell you how many cloves I ended up roasting! |
Thank you for the recipe! Very, very good. |
98. I also have to add that the taste of the roasted eggplant made me want baba ganouj so badly I can’t stand it! I’ve already purchased two more eggplants to roast tomorrow. ;) |
99. Eliza |
This isnt much of a review since I changed so much, but… it was a great easy meal. We skipped the pine nuts, used some cherry tomatoes (yellow, red, and orange) plus a regular tomato and quite a few eggplants of varying varieties. After roasting it was all too pretty still to puree so we skipped that step… just tos... |
100. Gaby B |
I just made this tonight, with a half an eggplant I had almost forgotten about, adding red and yellow bell pepper to substitute the missing half. I didn’t have any pine nuts, so I toasted almonds slices, and threw these into the processor with the veges. I’ve recently switched to whole wheat pasta so tonight’s sauc... |
101. As someone who doesn’t like eggplant, I love this recipe. I made it with the ricotta last night and it was such a good idea. I’d say I put in about a 1/4 or 1/3 cup. I also replaced the mint with basil leaves because I was out of mint, and it was also delicious — although it didn’t have the fresh feeling of mint... |
102. Olivia |
Delicious. Used standard, yellow tomatoes and basil because that is what I had. I think using standard tomatoes (cut into wedges when roasting) makes it saucy and not too dry. |
103. I made this recipe with minor adjustments: I substituted basil for mint (never been a mint girl except for mint choc chip ice cream), and I omitted the parmesan cheese. LOVED it to tears. Usually my go-to eggplant recipe is eggplant parm or I’ll throw in some eggplant to baked ziti, but this was just perfect for... |
104. Jen |
Yummy–I doubled the mint (because it needed to be trimmed) and it was a bit too minty; also, should have used a bit less pasta and a tad less red pepper flakes, altho we’re spicy fans. |
105. Freya |
I just made this sauce, adding lemon juice, vinegar, a whole head of roasted garlic and a ton of chopped basil. It was sublime. I topped the pasta with roasted wedges of eggplant and they interacted beautifully with the sprinkling of toasted pine nuts. The dish went beautifully with a glass of Barolo. My only regre... |
people, get a glass of Barolo, or any wine made from Nebbiolo and drink it with this. You’ll be glad you did! |
106. Shilpa |
I have made this sauce twice in the past week and it’s been great! I followed the recipe pretty closely the first time but made a few changes last night when I made it again. I thinned the sauce using a bit of chicken stock and a bit of milk. The milk gave it a little bit of sweetness which was great against the sl... |
107. Becka |
I really loved this recipe – not only did it provide me the opportunity to use my Cuisinart again (we’ve lived together for years, but have had a very separate existence), but it was also delicious and easy to make! Like some other posters, I only used a bit of the pasta water, but I like my sauces more on the thic... |
108. claire dweck |
What a dish! I didnt use pine nuts because i didnt have any in my kitchen and it was still fantastic! SO happy i found you |
109. Lizzy |
I’ve never heard so many jealous remarks ….. Gosh…I watch Food Network all the time and love Giada and Ina’s recipes. I’ve tried alot of them and most of them were a sucess. Giada can’t help she is beautiful….get over it people, don’t hate her for that! |
110. Stephanie |
This is a fabulous recipe! I changed it up a bit and made it into a dip using the Honey & Thyme Flat bread (also a delish recipe) as a vehicle instead of the pasta. I used 2 medium eggplants which I peeled (which may reduce the bitterness cited by Shilpa) and only used a few leaves of mint (about 1/8 cup). I added ... |
111. Erica |
I have tried a number of your recipes/Gourmet and have had hits; such as the summer squash and potato gratin. But this was just disappointing. I had tomatoes picked from my garden less than an hour before, and a farm share eggplant ready and waiting. I don’t think I could have started with better ingredients and th... |
112. Tammy |
I made this last night and loved it! Actually, I did it a little differently (2 eggplants, 3 fresh tomatoes, 1 yellow squash, fresh basil, dried oregano, olive oil, salt, and pepper; roasted all; blended in food processor with romano cheese; served over pasta). I love this method of making pasta sauce and will be d... |
113. Jennifer |
I made this tonight, and it was great! My sauce, however, looked nothing like yours, and was more creamy, almost pesto-y….and it was fabulous! It was definitely a make again! :) |
114. jem |
wow this was delicious. mine looked absolutely revolting though, like baby vomit or something – but looks aren’t everything. i added a little more garlic, because i love garlic but i think i stuck to your recipe for everything else – although i did have it with homemade linguine-type pasta. thanks! |
115. Chloe |
How do you know? How DO you know, Deb? I was riding the Metro home from work tonight here in Los Angeles (I know, very NYC of me!), and I was thinking, ‘what am I going to do with that lonely little eggplant in my refrigerator tonight?’ and then I thought I definitely have some pasta hanging around, so I could put ... |
thank you. |
116. Amanda |
I just have to say that I never made this recipe when you actually posted it, but made it a couple of months ago, and I think I’ve made it about 6 times since. This is one of the best, best, simplest recipes ever. I usually make it with a slighter higher eggplant to tomato ratio (a larger eggplant with slightly les... |
I love this, and anyone else reading down this far – MAKE THIS. |
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