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Return of the eggplant II

OK, this will probably horrify some foodies, but I do occasionally rely on canned or bottled prepared ingredients. I am known to buy bottled spaghetti sauce, and bottled salsa. I do check the labels to make sure I am not being fed weird chemicals.

That being said, the following is another non-traditional pasta recipe making use of eggplant and another exotic, the artichoke.

Eggplant and Artichoke Pasta

1 15 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 can artichokes (NOT marinated, you want fresh for this)
1 large black eggplant or an equivalent of smaller eggplant
red wine
2 cloves garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
olive oil
Pasta (whole wheat penne is good)

OK, a splash of olive oil in the skillet, chop the garlic and throw it in along with the red pepper flakes, saute a minute or two until sizzling and smelling good but not browning. While this is going on, peel the eggplant if it is a biggun and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. If using baby eggplants, you can leave the skin on and cut into bite-size slices. Put the eggplant in the skillet, cover, and saute, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant has softened. Add the spaghetti sauc.Rinse the jar out with a half-cup or so of red wine, and dump the resulting liquid into the pasta sauce. Quarter and add the artichokes. Simmer for five minutes or so and toss with cooked pasta.

If you are eating mostly vegetarian and find yourself jonesing for meat, this can be particularly satisfying, something about the texture and flavor of the eggplant and the artichoke together.

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