Ajvar Pasta with Feta
Roasted eggplant and red bell pepper make a deliciously European inspired sauce for pasta. Ajvar Pasta with Feta is a hearty and easy meal for any night of the week.
I have a friend who LOVES shoes, and I call her a shoe hoor; as in she’s probably sell her first born for an original pair of Blahnik’s. She pegged me a kitchen hoor when I stopped in my tracks at a kitchen gadget wall in Macy’s. I will spend HOURS looking through a Sur le Table, but couldn’t really care less about shoes or purses. I’m so anti-girly. *snort*
I usually blog about food. If I’m not making it, I’m eating it or reviewing it. Right now, I’m writing about my experiences in Sarajevo, Bosnia in November. The food there was amazing! Everything was simply made and VERY tasty. You should stop by and read a snippet or two.
I didn’t taste ayvar while I was in Bosnia. I saw it in jars and heard about it from H. It looked absolutely delicious in the jars in the grocery store. The jars looked like they were full of a Balkan bruschetta. YUM! I do recall reading a recipe or something about it recently. I was doing some research on Serbia in my Cook the World series. So, of course, when I saw it in Bosnia I was intrigued as to how to make it. And, as you all know, well maybe not you, but my usual readers know, I’m all about historical and authentic dishes from all over the world.
Ayvar is a very typical dish in Serbia and now the Balkans. There are many different varieties and flavors, but the ingredients are simple enough and it is simple enough to make. After reading about this dish, it sounded like a perfect #MeatlessMonday meal!!
Traditionally, ayvar is a long drawn out process of roasting the vegetables, peeling the peppers, simmering the sauce. Of course, I cheated. I bought roasted red peppers in a jar. BUT I did roast the eggplant the night before.
Come on. You KNOW you want to make this Ajvar Pasta with Feta. I mean…look at how tasty that is!
I added some feta to the pasta to bring about the whole dish. It added a sharp and slightly salty flavor to brighten the peppers and aubergines. I’ve ranted about how I don’t like the word eggplant and have henceforth decided to call them aubergines.
Anyway.
If you roast the aubergines the day before, like I did, then it’s a simple dish you can reheat and throw together as soon as the pasta is cooked. It made for a really easy, quick, and tasty #MeatlessMonday. I made ours a tad bit spicier than I thought, but it was still mighty tasty. I can easily see this being a very versatile recipe to have under my belt. It can be a main dish sauce, a side dish sauce, an appetizer topping. Throw in some olives? OH MY! That adds another level.
I hope you try this simple Ajvar Pasta with Feta dish for your #MeatlessMonday meal. If not, then just try the ayvar. You won’t regret it! To view some of my other tasty treats, stop by blog or you can view my recipes on My Recipe Magic.
Ajvar Pasta with Feta
Ingredients
- 2 cups eggplant, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups roasted red pepper, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 ounces fat free feta, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Bake the eggplant on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet coated in cooking spray until tender.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
- Place the eggplant and roasted red pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Add garlic, vinegar paprika, and cayenne pepper and pulse again until combined.
- Toss the hot pasta with the ajvar sauce. Stir in the feta cheese and serve.
