Hola lovelies! I’m back with the kick-ass dinner I had last night. A few of you asked if we got any swag at our house warming party and I can tell you we did indeed!
A couple of my friends got us some big goblet-sized wine glasses; another set of friends hand made us some kitchen dish towels that were absolutely bomb due to being not only in our favorite colors but also one was hand embroidered and two were made with my friend’s mad print-making skills. They put so much work and love into those towels – I love them so much! I’ll have to take some pictures and post them because they are swoon-worthy and brilliant.
Another friend canned us some green beans which apparently are crazy good in Bloody Mary’s – sweet!
A really cool gift that has a place on tonight’s post for sure was this collection of produce and herbs fresh out of a friend’s garden! Awesome!!
tomatoes, rosemary, jalapenos, banana peppers, cherry toms and green onions (unpictured)We also had this fella sitting around that our towel-making friends gave to us from their CSA box:
I wanted to find a way to use up some of the mad abundance of rosemary we had so I brainstormed and googled and blog-browsed…
And finally came up with this:
Rosemary Walnut Pasta with Eggplant
inspiration from Spinach Tiger
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant
- 1/2 pound pasta
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely (use less if you prefer)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 – 4 T finely chopped fresh rosemary (or substitute any fresh herb)
- Olive oil
- Sea salt, pepper,
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)
Directions
- Slice eggplant into thin slices, leaving skin on. Salt both sides, allow to sit for 30 minutes. Drain on paper towels (salting removes extra moisture and bitterness).
- Bring large pot of salted water to boil.
- Saute garlic in olive oil, until soft. Do not burn. Immediately add in walnuts, and rosemary, and saute about 6-10 minutes on medium heat, just until walnuts are toasted. Toss lightly with olive oil and rosemary.
- Remove walnuts to a bowl.
- Add in eggplant to same pan. Saute until soft on medium heat.
- Cook pasta according to directions.
- Drain pasta, toss with eggplant, nuts and rosemary mixture.
- Season with sea salt and pepper
- Toss with parmesan cheese (optional)
Devour!
I am gonna need to rave about this one for a second: it was incredibly delicious! Dan and I were making “mmm” noises the whole way through eating it and every bite had a new level of flavor. The rosemary paired with the walnuts so well and the whole dish had an amazing sweet yet salty taste. Super rich, super bomb diggity. Enjoyed with a large glass of white wine in our new glasses!
The next best thing about this dish is that it is super quick (we’re talking 30 mins absolute tops) and extremely easy. Seriously, add it to your “quick dinners” repertoire right now! The clincher for me was the way the Web site I found it on described the process: “One pot. One pan. One chopping board.” Sign me up!
What is your favorite go-to pasta dish for ease, speed and deliciousness?
I love spaghetti carbonara. It is so quick that it’s ready in a flash and yet the richness makes it tastes like something’s been simmering away for hours. Bueno!
