Eggplant and Sausage Pasta Bake

My husband, who swears that he hates eggplant with a passion, loved this recipe.  So if you are unsure about eggplant, give this a shot!

Eggplant Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne or rotini pasta
• 3/4 lb. Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry red wine 
• 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3 tbsp. sliced black olives
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the eggplant, onion, and garlic over medium heat until slightly softened (about 5 minutes).  Add sausage and cook until meat is no longer pink.  Drain.
3. Stir in wine and continue stirring to loosen browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
4. Drain pasta.  Add the pasta, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, olives, basil, and pepper to the skillet.
5. Transfer to a 3 qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through 

A note about the sausage – this recipe calls for Italian turkey sausage links.  Here in the land of obesity (ie. Lower Alabama) the only kind of turkey sausage I can find are links of smoked turkey sausage.  I’m sure that sliced smoked turkey sausage would taste fine in this recipe.  However, I really wanted to try it with ground sausage.  Since I typically reserve using real pork sausage for special occasions or a rare treat, I would like to share with you a substitution that I commonly make.

I use a sausage substitute made by Gimme Lean, a company that makes soy based meats and dairy products for vegetarians.  I use this as a substitute for ground sausage in pretty much all casserole type things that I cook.  It does taste like sausage, though the seasonings are slightly different.  The texture is the same as real sausage.  I would not recommend trying to eat a sausage patty made out of this stuff, but it tastes fine when used in a recipe such as the one above.