How To Make Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Orzo Pasta
Tossed with roasted veggies, feta, and pine nuts, this orzo pasta is a hearty light meal drizzled with a lemon-garlic dressing for some tang and spice.
Serves:
Ingredients
For Roasted Eggplant:
- 1lbpurple eggplant,(1 medium), sliced into ¾-inch cubes
- 2tbspolive oil
- salt and pepper
For Roasted Tomatoes:
- 1cuptomatoes,cherry or grape, halved
- 1tspolive oil
- salt and pepper
For Other Ingredients:
- ½lbDeLallo Organic Whole Wheat Orzo
- ⅓cupcrumbled feta
- ¼cupfresh basil,chopped
- ¼cupfresh parsley,chopped
- 2tbsppine nuts,toasted
For Lemon-garlic Dressing:
- 2tbspolive oil,more to taste
- 1tbsplemon juice
- 2clovesgarlic,pressed or minced
- ¼tspsalt,more to taste
- ⅛tspred pepper flakes
- freshly ground black pepper,to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with one rack in the middle of the oven and the other rack in the upper third of the oven.
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Line 1 large, rimmed baking sheet and 1 small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
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On the large baking sheet, toss the cubed eggplant with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer.
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Roast for about 25 minutes on the middle rack until the eggplant is tender and deeply golden on the edges tossing halfway.
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Meanwhile, on the smaller baking sheet, toss the halved tomatoes with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Wait to place the pan of tomatoes on the top rack after tossing the eggplant.
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Roast for about 12 minutes until the tomatoes are tender and a little wrinkled. (The eggplant and tomatoes should be done roasting at the same time.)
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Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the orzo, give it a stir and cook for about 9 minutes until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup cooking water, then drain the orzo and transfer it to a large serving bowl.
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To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground black pepper.
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Drizzle it over the warm orzo and toss to coat. Add the roasted eggplant, tomatoes, feta, basil, parsley, and pine nuts. Toss to combine.
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If the pasta seems dry, add 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water and/or a little more olive oil. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Calories: 433.53kcal
- Fat: 21.37g
- Saturated Fat: 4.33g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 12.21g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.52g
- Carbohydrates: 54.21g
- Fiber: 4.77g
- Sugar: 5.82g
- Protein: 12.59g
- Cholesterol: 11.13mg
- Sodium: 584.91mg
- Calcium: 120.08mg
- Potassium: 568.50mg
- Iron: 3.35mg
- Vitamin A: 53.12µg
- Vitamin C: 14.84mg
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