Day 2: Penne with Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

Today's recipe comes from associate research editor Claudia Bloom. She's one of the editors in charge of making sure that the information we publish in the magazine has been fully verified and is 100% correct at press time.

I like to cook pasta (especially since my growing, athletic, teenage son craves big bowls of it), but I often run out different ways to prepare it. We don't eat red meat. And, while I will cook tofu or fish, I prefer using vegetables only. I've never been a fan of eggplant, it's just seemed like a boring heavy vegetable so I've stayed away from cooking with it. So that's one of the reasons I chose to prepare the Penne with Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella recipe.


I also liked that there were only a few ingredients to use, and only four that required cutting—any more than that and it's too involved for me.

Once I gathered the ingredients; washed and cut the eggplant and tomatoes; reserved 1/4 cup of the pasta water; and measured the oil in pan; there wasn't much else to do. Easy. I especially liked creating my own sauce instead of opening a jar. I would have liked more detailed instructions on how to cut up the eggplant, since I'm unfamiliar with preparing it.

The finished pasta is light and clean and not too busy. Both the mint and the red pepper flakes added a nice layer to the dish. And the eggplant was flavorful without being overpowering.

 Works for me. The real test was my son's reaction.

One bite: "Delicious!" (He did have some questions about the eggplant: What are those seeds? How come it's brown, not purple?) But all in all a successful meal.

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you liked it in the comments, and share your photos by following @RealSimpleFood on Twitter and using the hashtag #OctDinner.