This delicious whole wheat penne with aubergine (eggplant) is based on a recipe from the late Antonio Carluccio's book 'Complete Italian Food'. It's full of Mediterranean flavours, healthy and easy to make!

Pasta integrale con melanzane e pinoli.
I have been in the UK on and off recently. Unfortunately, to spend some time with my mum who hasn’t been well. Apart from the fact that this has meant I have had less opportunity to upload posts, it has also restricted the amount of pasta dishes I can prepare for my pasta project! Of course, pasta is available in UK. But, the choice where my mum lives is limited (in comparison to Italy!). Plus, she’s on a special diet which doesn’t allow for a lot of pasta!
We haven’t remained completely pasta free, however! Whole wheat pasta is always a very healthy option and so I decided to use whole wheat penne rigate to make my mum this whole wheat penne with aubergine vegetarian pasta recipe. I came across this penne with eggplant in one of her cookery books; Antonio Carluccio’s Complete Italian Food. At home, I tend to use Italian cookery websites for inspiration, but my mum has some Italian recipe books, which, of course, I had to spend some time browsing through! I used penne rigate (grooved) rather than lisce (smooth) because, in my opinion, grooved pasta tends to hold the sauce better.
This recipe uses a combination of typical southern Italian ingredients, cooked to make a simple but delicious pasta sauce. These are very popular ingredients for pasta dishes throughout Italy, especially in the South. This whole wheat penne with aubergine is also great during the summer months because it's light and easy to digest.
I love British supermarkets!
The great thing about British supermarkets is that, apart from the small choice of pasta, you can find such a great variation of produce from around the world. Italian supermarkets are more limited when it comes to non-Italian food. So, although most of the ingredients for this recipe came from the Mediterranean countries (aubergines, olives, pine nuts, capers, chilli peppers), I was able to buy everything I needed.
Well almost! I couldn’t find pecorino cheese, not even in Waitrose, so I made do with a beautiful chunk of parmigiano I had brought from Italy and instead of salted capers (which I also couldn’t find) I used lovely large caper flowers! As a footnote, I also added cherry tomatoes and reduced the amount of tomato paste in Carluccio’s recipe! I always prefer to use fresh tomatoes.
The result was superlicious! I think the whole wheat penne added a depth of flavour, as did the caper flowers. It also tasted really good the next day and although I just warmed the leftovers up in the microwave, I reckon it would work as a cold pasta salad in summer or baked with the addition of some mozzarella! So when you make it, make extra. You’ll have two meals for the time it takes to make one!
Buon Appetito!
More Vegetarian Recipes You May Like
- Cacio e Pepe
- Fresh Fava Bean Pasta
- Pasta al Limone
- Pasta with Green Beans
- Spaghetti all'assassina
- Spaghetti alla Nerano
- Trofie with Pesto
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