Linguini with Eggplant, Red Pepper and Sausage

 

 

Today is my older sister's birthday.  Since she is the oldest, all of us siblings call her by the title Ate which is given to the eldest female child in a Filipino family.  Her baptized name is Maria Josefina and the latter is an acronym for Josefa and Rufina which are the names of her maternal and fraternal grandmother.  Everybody in my family calls her Ate Bebeng by us siblings or Tita Bebeng by her nephews and nieces.  Her friends call her Josie.



My Ate Bebeng and her husband Kuya Jun.

My Ate is one of the best cooks that I know.  One of these days I will post some of the recipes she had passed on to me.  In the Philippines, we celebrate ones birthday by preparing a noodle dish to represent ones wish for the celebrant for long life.  I cooked this pasta dish in her honor.  Happy Birthday Ate!  God bless.

This pasta dish is a  combination of the linguini dish that I recently saw in the Skinny Taste blog and Pasta Insalata dish that is served in Romeo's Pizzzeria and Mediterranean Kitchen in Indiana, Pa.   Below is a description of Pasta Insalata from Romeo's. 

　

Pasta Insalata Best Seller

Penne tossed with fresh mozzarella, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, baby spinach, kalamata olives & sun dried tomatoes in a light garlic olive oil sauce................................................$14.00


I used instead of penne, linguini, as was used in the dish from Skinny Taste and added sausage and roasted red pepper as the same blog suggested.  However, I had a craving for the pasta insalata ingredients like baby spinach, roasted eggplant and olives so I added them also to the Skinny Taste recipe.  I did not have mozzarela and mushrooms so I just skipped them. 

I cooked the linguini in the pasta cooker I bought from a sale of stuff from the former Curves I belonged to.  It is the best buy I ever made for a buck or so.  I have seen this pasta cooker being sold in McGinnis Specialty Store in Monroeville, Pa. 

I microwaved at high 8 oz of linguini with water up to the mark as the instructions gave for 8 minutes and then I stirred them and cooked them further for another 8 minutes.  I suggest one minute short for an al dente consistency.

 

 

I wish I had the hot chicken sausage suggested in the Skinny Taste recipe.  I used instead Aidells chicken sausage with pineapple and bacon I had previously purchased from Giant Eagle that was sittiing in my fridge begging to be used.   

 

 

 

Linguini with Eggplant, Red Pepper and Sausage

 

(Adapted from Skinny Taste)   

 

Ingredients:

 

• 12 oz hot Chicken Sausage, sliced (I used Aidells Pineapple and Bacon but I would suggest Italian Hot Chicken Sausage if you have it)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (more for drizzling)
• 1/3 cup chopped white onions
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large pieces of roasted red pepper from a jar, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 eggplant, (microwaved for 5 minutes on high and then cut into 1/2 inch squares)
• 1/4 cup canned black olives
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 dry red chili peppers, crumbled (optional.  Use when using the Aidells sausage to add heat to the dish) 
• 8 oz cooked linguini
• 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese (more when serving)
• garlic powder (optional.  I like my pasta garlicky so I add this to my serving)
• more dry red chili peppers (optional when serving)

If using Italian chicken hot sausage, cook the slices in olive oil until cooked through.  If using Aidells Sausage, which are already cooked, you can just heat them through in olive oil.  Place the sausage aside.

 

Add to the skillet the onions, garlic, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, eggplant, olives, baby spinach and dry red chili peppers (if using) and cook them till the raw vegetables are cooked.  Place back the sausage to the skillet and cook it with the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

 

Toss the cooked and drained linguini with the sauce and parmesan cheese.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and more parmesan cheese, garlic powder and red chili peppers if desired.