Penne with Vegetarian Ragu

It was summer time. Husband and I were trying to decide what to have for dinner. It was a very hot day and we wanted something light, quick and not too warm. It had been a week since we had pasta and since neither of us wanted to slave over a hot stove looking after pasta sauce, I told him to leave it to me. And this dish was born!

This meal takes 30-45 minutes to make. This is from the moment I pick up the knife until I serve it up. The secret is to cook the pasta at the same time as making the ragú. It makes a perfect dinner at any time of the year and it is soooo quick to make!

Ingredients

Pasta
175-200g penne rigati
Salt

Ragú
2 x 400g chopped tomato cans
1 small to medium eggplant, choped into 1 cubes
1 medium zucchini, chopped into 1cm cubes /> 1 large brown onion, sliced
1 red capsicum, chopped into 1cm pieces
100-200g sliced black Spanish Olives
1 red chilli, chopped
Handful fresh basil
Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt & pepper

Method

Heat 1-3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium frypan. Once up to heat, add in eggplant and zucchini. Cook until softened.
In a medium saucepan, over high heat, add in 3-4 tablespoons olive oil. Once up to heat, add in onion, chilli and capsicum. Cook, stirring often, until onion and capsicum have softened.
Add in chopped tomatoes, tomato paste. Rinse one can of chopped tomatoes with water, transferring into other can. Add into saucepan. Add in zucchini and eggplant mix and basil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 mins. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, add hot water to a stockpot. Once boiling add in pasta. Salt to taste.
When cooked, drain the pasta, leaving a small amount of the pasta water in the bottom of the stockpot.
Transfer pasta into the pot, and over high heat, add in ragú. Add in olives and cook for 3-5 mins.
Tranfer to a pasta bowl. Sprinkle with pecorino cheese and season with pepper.