I cook eggplant

Not being much of a gourmet, I don't try a lot of new dishes that contain ingredients I've never worked with. But a recipe on the back of a pasta package caught my eye. No, I don't make pasta from scratch (or sausage, for that matter). It was Barilla Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni (yum) and the recipe is for Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni with cherry tomatoes and eggplant.

At this point I was going to link to the Barilla Web site, so you could get the directions straight from the horse's mouth. But would you believe it's not listed there? Oh well, I made a couple of changes anyway. So, no pretty pictures, but here's the recipe:

Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni with cherry tomatoes and eggplant

Ingredients
1 8 oz. bag Barilla Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small eggplant, salted, peeled and cubed
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
6 basil leaves, thinly sliced (2 tablespoons) (I used dried basil and it was fine. I know you purists are probably cringing.)
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste (I eliminated the salt, deciding there was plenty from salting the eggplant.)

Directions
1. Cook tortelloni according to package directions. (If you're the type to make pasta from scratch, carry on. You know what to do here.)
2. While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet.
3. Add garlic and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
4. Add eggplant and saute for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoons of basil, 1/2 cup water (This amount of water made the dish a bit runny. I would cut it by about one third.) and salt to taste. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and combine with drained pasta.
7. Top with remaining basil and serve with a multi-grain baguette (or whatever tickles your fancy.

The S.O. gave this dish his seal of approval, and I liked it a lot (despite my love/hate relationship with tomatoes). If you try it, change it, improve on it, be sure to let me know.