Skillet Eggplant and Pasta
Skillet Eggplant and Pasta is a simple solar cooking recipe, that combines all of the goodness of the garden into a light, delicious dish. Fresh vegetables from the market combined with fresh air cooking. Who can resist a dish that is bright, colorful, and tastes awesome?
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound penne pasta (about 1/2 box)
- Water to cover pasta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 of a bell pepper
- 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 pound cherry tomatoes (halved, if desired)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Instructions:
- Place a large skillet on the heat ring of a parabolic solar cooker.
- Add the penne pasta to the skillet.
- Allow the water to simmer and cook the pasta until soft about 10 – 12 minutes.
- When the pasta is soft, drain and remove it from the skillet.
- Toss the pasta with a small amount of olive oil, then cover to keep warm.
- Return the empty skillet to the heat ring, add a TBSP of olive oil and let it heat.
- Add the chopped pepper to the skillet and lightly saute until the pepper is nearly tender.
- Add the chopped eggplant to the skillet.
- Add the garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, and basil.
- Stir and cook until the eggplant and peppers are tender.

- Return the pasta back to the skillet. Add the cherry tomatoes, either whole or halved to your liking.
- Stir to mix everything and make sure it is heated thoroughly.
- Add the mozzarella cheese. Place a lid on top of the skillet to hold the heat in to melt the cheese.
- Enjoy the meal.


This solar cooking recipe is made by Sunshine On My Shoulder, and was first posted here. Merry Bevill is the owner/writer of Sunshine On My Shoulder, a complete guide to solar cooking. She has been solar cooking since 2008 and has more than 300 solar cooking recipes on her website.