Rigatoni alla Melanzane (Eggplant) my version of Acqua al 2's

We went out for my birthday to one of our favorite places Acqua al 2 in DC.
Check them out at http://acquaal2dc.com/ %20They  They are very reasonably priced and the food is fabulous. Pasta all homemade and their beef with the blueberry sauce is phenomenal--I know it sounds weird but trust me is memorable.
I have to tell you after almost 30 years married when we go out it never fails Kevin always picks the best meal --luckily he always shares (does he really have a choice -NOT!)  I loved what I had but his was even better that day from the Primi Piatti Menu the Rigatoni alla Melanzane   Tube-­shaped pasta with a tomato and eggplant sauce,mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  If its your first time I would recommend the pasta sampler which is 5 different samples of the vegetarian pastas and risotto's to share between 2 people--it is plenty of food and fabulous

The picture above is my version .Anyhow I came home and had to try to recreate it  -- ended up combining 2 different recipes -- theirs had less eggplant pieces in it when served --but still liked my version.


 
1 pkg rigatoni - be sure to cook it al dente
1 can 28 oz of whole plum tomatoes
1 can 28 oz of diced tomatoes (I know in the picture it is a 15oz can but I ended up adding a second)
1/2 can tomato paste
2 t dried oregano
2 garlic gloves, minced
2 large eggplants, peeled and cubed
12 kalamataolives, pitted (shhh secret ingredient don't tell my olive haters)
fresh basil or I used some of my frozen from last summer
EVOO
Salt
Fresh Parmesan Cheese to garnish

First step is to peel and dice your eggplant--because it can be so bitter you want to put it in a colander in ink salt liberally and leave it to sweat out the juices for about 15 min --rinse and pat dry

Then place eggplant in a single layer on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil--into 425 oven for about 20 minutes until softened. Remove and put off to side.

Meanwhile in about 1-2 T EVOO in large frying pan or pot brown your garlic for about 10 secs

Now how cool is this--one of the new PC spring products a Manual Food Processor that takes up very little space -doesnt require electricity with dishwasher safe parts (the lids just rinses) --anyhow placed my olivesw in there and with a few quick pumps of the handle (works like their salad spinner) my kalamata olives are
almost minced paste like -see picture below!

Now theycan easily be snuck into the sauce --great for flavor and they will never know!

Ok into sauce pan add both large cans of tomatoes, minced kalamata olives and oregano. Mix and let them simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Mash your tomatoes after they have softened with a masher or back of a wooden spoon. This is what it looks like now.

Now we added in about 3/4 of the cooked/ roasted eggplant--initially Kevin started to mash them into the sauce but it still left pretty large pieces...

So instead we brought in the hand blender and that worked better and made a really nice thick sauce.

Now add in the last quarter of the roasted eggplant and the basil chopped.

Serve over your pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese--as you can see Kevin already had his crusty bread for getting every last drop of the sauce!