One Pot Pasta with Mushrooms & Eggplant (Vegan)

The Minimalist Baker is a pretty awesome place to visit if you're looking for plant based recipes.

This dish is so quick and easy that it could turn out to be one of your favourite week-night meals. You can use whatever kind of mushroom you have laying around. I had a lonely portabello that was begging to be eaten, so that's what I used.

The recipe called for ½ a small eggplant and 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, but since I didn't have enough mushrooms to make 2 cups, I used more eggplant. You can use whatever you've got.

My pasta was not as saucy as Dana's because I made the mistake of leaving the vegetables in the pot instead of removing them as her recipe suggested. It was very delicious though! If you want saucy pasta, remove the eggplant and mushrooms and set them aside once they're golden.

One Pot Pasta with Mushrooms and Eggplant ( Vegan )

Adapted from The Minimalist Baker

Makes 2-4 servings.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces dry pasta (I used kamut bowties)
• 1/2 medium eggplant, cubed
• 2 teaspoons salt (for the eggplant)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 portabello mushroom, cubed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced and divided
• 1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes (re-hydrated)
• 1 1/2 cups vegan marinara sauce (mine was from a jar, not a can)
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt as needed

Directions

1. Sprinkle your eggplant with salt and let it sit in a colander for about ½ hour. You'll notice some liquid from the eggplant. That's what you want. Rinse the eggplant well, dry it with paper towel and set it aside.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the eggplant, mushrooms and 1 clove of the chopped garlic for a few minutes until the vegetables get a little colour on them. Sprinkle on some salt if you wish. Remove the vegetables and set them aside. If you leave them in, your finished dish will not be as saucy. It will look like mine.
3. Now, place all the other ingredients in the pot and stir. You can add a little salt if you want, but that's completely up to your tastes. Bring to a boil and then cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the pasta is cooked through. Top with the eggplant and mushrooms. If you did what I did, they will already be mixed in.