Eggplant & Lentil Rigatoni

There is nothing better than a pasta that has it all - salty from anchovy & bacon, sweet from cooked down onions, slightly acidic from tomatoes - with a little hit of chilli. This recipe is packed with gut & hormone friendly fibre from veggies & lentils, and gets even better eaten as leftovers.

This recipe uses mostly pantry & kitchen staples, and is super easy to change up to suit what you have on hand. It makes 10 serves of sauce, so plenty to freeze for later on.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 bacon rashers, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 anchovy fillets, minced (optional)

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 eggplant, cut into 1cm dice

700ml passata + a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (OR 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes)

3 cubes frozen spinach (OR 30g baby spinach, finely shredded)

1 cup water

400g brown lentils, drained 🥫

Rigatoni, cooked to serve

METHOD

Heat olive oil in large frying pan over med-high heat, cook onion & bacon until onion is translucent.

Add garlic, anchovy, chilli & oregano. Cook, stirring until anchovy disappears, about 1 min.

Add eggplant, stirring until it starts to soften.

Add passata/tomatoes & water. Heat until simmering then reduce to low heat, cook for 10 minutes until thickened slightly, then add lentils.

Serve with rigatoni, fresh basil, a spoon of ricotta & finely shaved Parmesan.

CHANGE IT UP

Swap eggplant for 2 cups of any chopped vegetables - mushrooms & zucchini would also be delicious.

Double the canned lentils to make it a heftier sauce, more like a vegetarian bolognese. This could then be used as a filling for baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, as a nachos topping, or for lentil shepherds pi.

To make this vegetarian/vegan, omit the anchovies & bacon (& obviously the cheese!)