Bon Appetit Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch

Growing up my mom made a large amount of pasta. I remember having pasta dishes at least once a week and loving pretty much every one of them. My two boys have followed my tradition of loving pasta and request it frequently. The only problem with making pasta so often, is the tendency to follow the same recipe over and over again. I have been making a conscious effort to expose my children to as many different flavors and dishes as possible, so I am always on the look-out for  a new recipe to try. The March issue of Bon Appetit magazine had a recipe for Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch, which looked appetizing and out of my family's ordinary pasta routine.

Since this is a baked pasta dish, the total prep and cooking time is a little longer. The total prep time was approximately 30 minutes, with a total time of about 2 hours. The ingredients in this recipe were all readily available at my local supermarket. The prep for the recipe goes together quickly, with the roasting of the vegetables taking the greatest amount of time. Make sure to adequately salt the pasta water and to taste the sauce. I had to add a decent amount of salt to the sauce in order to make the taste not be bland due to the canned tomatoes.

This recipe was a hit at my house. My husband liked that the pasta wasn't burnt on the outside and soggy on the inside like most pasta bakes end up being. I appreciated that there was enough leftovers for 3 more lunches, saving me money and time later during the week. We all agreed that the best part of the dish was the pine nut crunch on top, it gave the dish an added flavor, which was delicious. This recipe would be great to serve at a large dinner or to make and have leftovers for multiple additional meals.

For the recipe go to Bon Appetit Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch.