Summer Vegetable Pasta

Start boiling water for the pasta.

Slice the ends off of the eggplant and discard. Leaving the skin on, slice the eggplant into about 1/4 inch thick rounds. Lay the rounds out flat on a pan and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for about 15-20 minutes, then flip them and salt the other side and let it sit for another 15-20 minutes. (This will allow the eggplant to sweat out excess water.)

Slice the ends of the zucchini and discard. Leaving the skin on, slice into about 1/4 inch thick rounds, and then slice the rounds into quarters. Set aside.

Chop 1/2 cup of onion (I used yellow, but any color will do). Set aside.

Mince 3-4 (or more) cloves of garlic depending on how much you like it! Set aside.

Note: Your eggplant may need to be flipped now.

Remove any stems from the spinach, tear up the leaves and rinse them – measurement of 3 cups is packed loosely. Put all three cups into a bowl.

Tear the leaves off of one sprig of fresh basil and add them to the spinach.

Chop 4 medium sized vine ripened tomatoes and add them to a bowl. Add a few dashes of salt and pepper to the chopped tomatoes.

Note:Your eggplant should be done sweating now. Rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Chop rounds into bite sized pieces.

Also, your water should be boiling, add the pasta and cook it according to the package instructions.

Heat a medium to large skillet and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add eggplant and begin sauteing on medium heat. Once the eggplant starts to soften, add the zucchini and chipotle chile pepper. Continue to saute for about 3 minutes until done. Put eggplant and zucchini mixture in a bowl and set aside.

Using the same hot pan, add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the garlic and onions and saute. Once the onions begin to soften, add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes start to break down (about 2 minutes) add the spinach and basil, continue to saute on low-medium heat until they wilt (about 1 minute). Add the eggplant and zucchini mixture and stir. Reduce heat to simmer.

Your pasta should be done now. Drain the pasta and rinse in very hot water to remove the starch.

Plate the pasta and add spoonfulls of the vegetable sauce. Top it with grated Parmesan if you have some!
Enjoy!