Fettuccine Pasta with Zucchini, Eggplants and Peppers

Super healthy, vegetarian fettuccine pasta packed with tons of nutrients.

Are you ready to try an incredibly tasty pasta loaded with veggies? Easy to make, ready in no time, super healthy and so colorful! It even tastes more delicious than it looks!
Here is the nutrition label for this recipe.
This pasta is packed with vitamins, especially C and A, fibers and anti-oxidants. As you can see,  there are less than 450 calories for a big plate of pasta. Amazing, right? And the only fats presents are from the Parmesan cheese, which is optional, and the olive oil that, as you probably know, is one of the few "good" fat and the healthiest of the cooking oil. Olive oil is rich in mono unsaturated acid fatty, which lower the bad cholesterol and increase the good one, and seems to prevent  heart diseases. This is why, as you probably have noticed, I only use olive oil in my recipes!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• half onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 zucchini
• 1 pepper (I used half red, and half yellow pepper)
• 1 small eggplant (or half of a large)
• 2 large tomatoes (I used one yellow and one red tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (optional)
• salt to taste
• 12 oz fettuccine or linguine pasta or similar

Preparation time: about 30 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: In a large skillet, saute' the crushed garlic and the chopped onion in the olive oil for one minute. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta when boiling.

Step 2: Cut the zucchini, the eggplant and the peppers in long thin strips. Add to the skillet, and cook covered for a few minutes at medium-high heat.

Step 3: Peel the tomatoes (if you like!), by running them under hot water, or placing them into a small pot of boiling water. Cut the tomatoes in small strips removing most of the seeds. Add to the skillet and cook for a few more minutes until the vegetables are as soft as you like them to be. You will need to stir the veggies, but be careful not to mix too much and make them mushy. If ready before the pasta, keep the vegetables warm at the minimum heat.

Step 4: Drain the pasta and mix well in the large skillet with the vegetables. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Meatless-balls with Eggplants - Polpette con Melanzane

Yummy vegetarian meatless-balls (polpette) with eggplants. 

Every bite filled with delightful Mediterranean flavors.

Tonight I prepared an easy, quick, super healthy, vegetarian one-dish meal.
And so deliciously Mediterranean!
This is one of Chef Jamie Oliver's recipe that I found in the Jamie Magazine Italia. You can click here to read the original recipe. As you can see, the name of this dish is actually "polpette alle melanzane", where "polpette" translates into meatballs. But the Italian word doesn't imply that there is meat in the balls.  Just chopped or ground ingredients, mixed together with eggs and breadcrumbs, and shaped in balls. So, I'm calling these: meatless-balls with eggplants :-)
Note, what I wrote down here is not a translation of the recipe in the magazine. As usual, I'm giving you a step-by-step guide of what I made. With pictures for each step.
As you know, one of the things I like most about my blog, after the cooking... and well, eating what I cook, is taking pictures of my food! I will be sending one of these photos to the Jamie Magazine Italy, which is offering a photography contest.
I have to say, meatballs are not as photogenic as cookies or cakes. No mouthwatering chocolate, no crispy white powder sugar, no colorful pieces of fruit ... Just plain brown meatballs! But these were very delicious, and I hope my pictures shows it!
Now I just need to choose which of my pictures to send. I'm not sure yet.
Any preferences?!?
... Wish me luck :-)

Ingredients: to make about 18 small balls, serving 4               Printable Recipe

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• one large eggplant
• 1 cup (100 gr) of shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup (100 gr) of bread crumbs, plain
• 1/2 cup (25 gr) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup (25 gr) pine nuts, toasted
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 egg
• a handful of basil leaves

For the sauce:

• one garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 15 oz (about 440 gr) of crushed tomatoes

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). In a large skillet or grilling pan, grill the eggplant cut in thin slices. I used two large skillets to make it faster. Season with salt.

Step 2: Cut the grilled eggplants in cubes, and place in a large bowl together with the rest of the ingredients: mozzarella, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, egg and basil (minced).

Step 3: Mix well and roll the mixture in small balls. Place the eggplant balls in an oven pan sprinkled with olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn them over halfway.

Step 4: In a separate saucepan, cook the olive oil, with the garlic and crushed tomatoes for about 10 minutes. Season with salt, and serve with basil together with the eggplant balls.

Buon Appetito!