Eggplant (Aubergine) Rigatoni Bake
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 16
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 1 eggplant, cut in 1/4 inch slices (about 1 pd)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, quartered and sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or more to taste)
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (Hunt's is best)
- salt and pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained to only firm-tender (can use more pasta if desired)
- 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted
- 1 cup whole milk or 1 cup half-and-half cream
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated (or any similar cheese)
- 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese (can use more to taste)
directions
- Set oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 13 x 9-ich baking dish.
- Brush the eggplant slices with oil.
- Arrange in a single layer in prepared baking dish.
- Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven; set aside.
- Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, stir beef over medium heat to break up the meat, drain any fat.
- Add in zucchini, green pepper, onion and garlic; cook, stirring until the beef is browned.
- Add in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, stirring to break up tomatoes.
- Reduce the heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
- Spoon over eggplant.
- In a bowl, stir together the cooked rigatoni, soup, milk and the Monterey Jack cheese until blended.
- Spoon over the beef mixture.
- Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.
- Cover baking dish with foil.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes; uncover, and bake for 10 minutes longer.
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Reviews
-
Talk about comfort food! I think it's the cream of celery soup that really makes this one a winner. The flavor is one of those things that you just can't put your finger on unless you see the recipe! Only change I made was to use ground turkey and I didn't put oil on the eggplant, just cooking spray. Thank you so much for this keeper!