Vegetarians will love this chunky aubergine sauce which is so easy to make (beware-vegans need to avoid the cheese in the pesto) and is a great way to increase your vegetable intake. You could use a mixture of vegetables for this tasty sauce – try diced courgettes or red pepper too as they work with the pesto flavours so well. Why use a jar of pasta sauce when this is so fresh, tasty and quick, it’s great for a mid week supper or smart enough to share with friends.
Ingredients
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced
- 1 small aubergine, cut into 1cm pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 400g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 300g spaghetti
- 5tbsp basil pesto
- A few basil leaves
Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 5 mins until soft and transparent, add the aubergine and cook for 5-10 mins until browned softened and tender. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min then add the cherry tomatoes and heat through.
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 mins until just tender. Drain well then return to the pan and stir the pesto through it. Spoon into serving dishes and top with the aubergine mixture and basil leaves.
Top tip for making Aubergine and pesto spaghetti
There are many different types of pesto – basil pesto is just one of them. They’d all work well in this recipe especially sun-dried tomato pesto, rocket pesto or chilli pesto.
