By: EatingWell

Photographer: Burris, Ken

Publish Date: 2008-10-01

Servings: 4

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 35 minutes

Prep Time: 25 minutes

To Make Ahead: Prepare the sauce (Step 2); cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Recipe Description:

With a rich, hearty sauce full of bold flavors, this sophisticated pasta is elegant enough for company, but easy enough to make after work. Make it a Meal: an arugula and black olive salad tossed with red-wine vinaigrette complements this dish well.

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 8 ounces whole-wheat rigatoni, or penne
2. 1/2 pound 92%-lean ground beef
3. 4 cloves garlic, chopped
4. 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
5. 3 cups diced eggplant, (about 1/2 medium)
6. 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
7. 2 8-ounce cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
8. 1 cup red wine
9. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12. 2 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
13. 1/2 cup crumbled feta, (optional)

Recipe Steps:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, cook beef, garlic and fennel seeds in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, until the beef is browned, about 3 minutes. Add eggplant and oil; cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant browns, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Drain the pasta; serve topped with the sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts and feta, if using.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

1. To toast pine nuts, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 394 calories; 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat, 3g mono unsaturated fat); 30 mg cholesterol; 56 g carbohydrates; 22 g protein; 11 g fiber; 345 mg sodium; 735 mg potassium

Nutrtion Bonus: Vitamin C (30% daily value), Zinc (26% dv), Vitamin A (25% dv), Potassium (21% dv), Iron (20% dv).

Exchanges: 3 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 very lean meat, 1 fat

Carbohydrate Servings: 3

Recipe Categories:

Course(s)

Dinner

Cuisine(s)

Italian

Mediterranean

Degree of Difficulty

Easy

Special Health Consideration(s)

High Fiber

Low Sat Fat

Low Cholesterol

Low Sodium

High Potassium

Heart Healthy

Seasons & Occassions

Fall

Summer

Spring

Winter

Entertainment

Main Ingredient(s)

Dairy & Soy

Cheese

Meat

Beef

Pasta

Meat

Technique(s)

Quick

Saute

Dish Type(s)

Main Dish

Recipe Disclaimer(s):

Scaling Disclaimer: EatingWell recipes are tested extensively in the EatingWell Test Kitchen. Eating Well cannot guarantee a recipe that has been scaled to make a different number of servings from the original. Also note that scaling only applies to the ingredient measurements: no adjustment is made to the recipe instructions, so pan sizes and cooking times and ingredient amounts referred to in the text of the recipe only apply to the original number of servings.