Comfort Shells with Red Beans, Tomatoes and Eggplant

Most of the kid recipes on this blog, tend to be dominated by my son’s influences and preferences. Much like me, my boy is quite taken with food. He also loves cheese, eggs, and will of course enjoy a good bowl of veggies. Hearing about something made just for him makes his eyes shine and he will sit and discuss menus for the week, for lunch or a special party for hours on end.

My daughter does enjoy food, but does not share our obsession and in general has simple and healthy tastes. This pasta dish, that has evolved through various trials and errors is one of her favorite meals. She calls it her, Comfort Foody Pasta. The word word foody was something she used as a toddler but still clings on to for favorite dishes, such as this pasta which we have named Comfort Shells with Red Beans, Eggplant and Tomatoes. She has complained that I have not written about it like other meals, yes, my blog does have at least two visitors – my boy and my girl. So, today I made it again and decided to take a few pictures with a promise to do it again when I make it in summer.

It had its beginnings on a day when I was loaded with tomatoes, hot peppers and loads of fresh herbs from the farmer’s market. I had stopped by, taken a few pictures and decided to whip together something with everything on hand. And this dish evolved. We had initially topped this with cheese, but have over time felt that it really is not necessary, so I have bumped up the olive oil content and left out the cheese, making this a vegan and relatively healthy creation perfect for the meatless monday posts that I have been featuring.

 

There is not a lot needed for this dish, I usually have cooked red beans handy, and if you want to add a different level of flavor to the dish, you are welcome to add in a cup of cooked rajmah instead of the beans in this recipe.

Print
Shells with Tomatoes, Fresh Herbs and Beans

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

A simple improvised recipe for pasta that makes a great quick summer meal, this is a medley of red beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and herbs almost like a ratatouille with pasta.

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 pods of garlic, minced
1 cup of tender eggplant (such as a Japanese eggplant), cubed
4 to 6 fresh tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 medium sized bell pepper diced or slivered
1/2 cup cooked red kidney beans
11/2 cups of cooked small shells (about 3 ounces, cooked per package directions)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped basil

Instructions

Heat 1/2 the oil and add in the cumin seeds and in a few seconds add in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant and aromatic. Add in the eggplant and toss well to lightly brown the eggplant. Reduce the heat and continue cooking the eggplant until quite tender, this will take about 10 minutes.
In a food processor puree the tomatoes. Add into the eggplant mixture with the salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture is saucy and slightly thick.
In a separate skillet heat about 1 tablespoon of the oil and saute the bell pepper for 3 to 4 minutes. Add to the tomato eggplant mixture with the red kidney beans and the remaining olive oil.
Stir in the shells and the crushed red pepper flakes if using.
Sprinkle with the cilantro and basil and serve hot.
Serve this recipe, with your favorite wine, while I tend to be partial to reds I think that this will work well with both red and white wines.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.6http://www.spicechronicles.com/comfort-shells-tomatoes-fresh-herbs-beans/

The post Comfort Shells with Red Beans, Tomatoes and Eggplant appeared first on Spice Chronicles.