This recipe was born of my desire to use whatever is left in my pantry and fridge, my need to not waste food, my love of inventing new recipes.
During this awful pandemic, I have not shopped. I use a shopping service, so I am more mindful when I order because I can’t just hop in the car and go to the store for a tomato.
A few months ago I was at the tail end of what was left of an order, the list I keep almost ready for the next shop. I had some tomatoes and mushrooms, a few scallions and some pasta. I always have Parmesan cheese in the fridge. I chopped the vegetables (including a clove of garlic), added some fresh oregano (it was still summer so I had some fresh from the garden) and stewed the sauce until everything was soft and fragrant. We had it for dinner over spaghetti and Ed declared it a miracle.
I have made a variation of this dish several times since then. Once, I had an eggplant, so I added that. Another time I threw in some chopped zucchini. I sometimes replaced the scallion with onion. And of course, with no fresh herbs from the garden (and none left in the fridge) I have seasoned the sauce with dried oregano.
That’s how versatile this recipe is. It’s so easy. We load it with freshly grated Parmesan, but it’s also delicious without the cheese, served as a kind of saucy side dish for beef — steak, meatballs, and so on.
Here’s one version but feel free to change this and that.
Chunky Tomato-eggplant-Mushroom Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 tomatoes, chopped or two cups cut up cherry or grape tomatoes
1 cup diced eggplant
6 ounces mushrooms, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or basil
salt and pepper
cooked pasta
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or wok/pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, herb and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes or until the mixture is thick and sauce-like. Serve over pasta (or use as a side dish for grilled steak or chicken).
Makes enough for one pound of pasta