Want a feel-good meal? Then this red lentil pasta dish is for you. The zucchini, eggplant, and chopped black olives are tossed in a tomato pesto sauce that is the perfect Meatless Monday dinner. This is an easy, weekday meal full of flavor and loaded with good for you ingredients.
I decided to bring back Meatless Monday to my kitchen. I am always looking for new ways to stir up my options during the week, and I thought it was healthy to do after packing on some quarantine pounds. I looked in my pantry for inspiration and found a box of red lentil penne, a can of chopped black olives, a can of cannellini beans, and a jar of tomato pesto. So, here we go playing chopped again. I made a quick stop at the market to pick up zucchini and eggplant. I was thrilled they had Japenese eggplant because I didn't want to fuss with salting the eggplant. Japenese eggplant is long and thin. I find that the larger eggplant varieties can be bitter, and you need to draw out that flavor. I have never had to do that with Japanese ones.
This sauce is not a traditional Puttanesca sauce, but it is inspired by one. For one thing, there are no capers or anchovies in this sauce. This light sauce does have olives, garlic, crushed red peppers flakes, and tomatoes from the store-bought tomato pesto. So, my version has some of the same ingredients, but I'm not going for authentic here. I'm just going with what I have, and I'm perfectly OK with this. This sauce is going to be delicious!
You may haven't had red lentil pasta before. I will say that the texture is not the same as regular durum wheat pasta. I don't think there is much flavor to it either. So, this sauce really livens up the red lentil pasta. The cannellini beans are creamy and add a nice element, and I love the slight briny taste the black olives give to the dish. With the short cut of using store-bought pesto, this dinner comes together in a snap. This tomato pesto from Mezzetta tastes like sundried tomatoes and is the perfect base for this sauce with the zucchini and eggplant. I added some dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and Kosher salt to tie all the flavors together. My husband had two servings; he enjoyed it so much. I'd say I have a winner of a dinner on my hands!
Red Lentil Penne with Vegetable Puttanesca
Serves 4
8-ounce box of red lentil penne
1 jar Mezzetta Tomato Pesto
1 medium-sized zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 medium-sized Japanese eggplant, quartered and chopped
1 small can of chopped black olives
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Generous 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt to taste
Reserve 1 cup of cooked pasta water
Chopped Italian parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, season water with Kosher salt. Cook pasta for about 8 minutes, until tender. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Set aside. In a 3 or 4 quart pan, over medium-high heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add zucchini, and cook for a couple of minutes. Next, add the eggplant. Season with Kosher salt. Cook until the vegetables start to soften, about 4 minutes. If the pan is getting too dry, add more olive oil. Add garlic and cook for a minute, but don't burn. Add beans and gently toss with a spatula to combine. Add the pasta and mix in 4 heaping tablespoons of the tomato pesto. Add some pasta water to help create a sauce. You can add more pesto if you like. Last, mix in the chopped black olives. Garnish with chopped Italian parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.