I love that summertime brings the arrival of fresh garden goodies! I've always admired people who can take care of a garden as I can see it takes a lot of work. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law spend hours in the backyard tending to their flowers and fruits and vegetables. They've weeded the garden and picked off bugs that were munching on the leaves of their veggies. It is a labor of love for them and I'm so thankful that they share what they produce with us. They gave us some sweet cherry tomatoes, lovely plum tomatoes, Italian basil, and vibrant purple Japanese eggplant. Here's the recipe I came up with combining those delicious ingredients.
Ingredients
16 oz Penne Pasta
2 or 3 Japanese eggplant (peel alternating stripes lengthwise, then cut in 1/2" coins)
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes or sliced plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 or 5 pieces of Salmon (cut to serving size)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
for the pesto: (can be prepared beforehand and refrigerated)
3/4 cup Italian basil (reserve a few leaves for garnish)
1/2 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare a large baking tray with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
In a large bowl, mix cut eggplant and cut tomatoes with 1/4 cup olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Spread out evenly on half of the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add penne to the boiling water.
Boil for 11-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until al dente or longer if you prefer more tender pasta.
Drain well and return to empty pot.
While the eggplant and tomatoes are roasting, heat the butter in a small bowl in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or until melted. Combine the lemon juice with the melted butter. Reserve for the salmon.
Put spinach, basil, olive oil, grated parmesan, toasted walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend until fully combined. If it looks too thick, add a little more olive oil. Mix 2/3 of the pesto with the penne pasta in the pot.
At 20 minutes, take out the baking tray from the oven, and use a wooden spoon to move the eggplant and tomatoes around so they can roast evenly. Put the salmon pieces skin side down on the other half of the tray, and pour the melted butter lemon juice on them. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the salmon pieces.
Bake the whole tray for 10-12 minutes until salmon is done.
Mix roasted tomatoes and eggplant with the pesto pasta. Plate penne with a piece of salmon on top and a little less than a tablespoon of pesto on top. Garnish with extra basil leaves. Serve and enjoy!
My daughter loved cutting the tomatoes with her plastic knife.
This set of plastic knives came with the cutting board on Amazon. They are great for kids to cut softer vegetables and fruit.
Yummy Pesto!
Mixed pesto with penne.
This is after the tomatoes and eggplant were roasting for 20 minutes, and when I added the salmon to the tray. The whole tray bakes for another 10 minutes.
Everything plated and ready to eat!
Comments
Post a Comment