Greek-Style Spaghetti

bluemoon downunder's Note:

A wholesome and scrumptious Greek-style Spaghetti packed full of Mediterranean vegetables stir-fried until just tender, then flavoured with a blend of honey and balsamic vinegar. The vegetables are then tossed with the pasta and topped with crumbled feta cheese. Delicious. A dish just made to be eaten with a bottle of your favourite wine. I am posting this recipe, from one adapted from an International Masters '1001 recipes for pan or wok' recipe card, for the 2005 Zaar World Tour.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 baby eggplants
• 1 small red capsicum
• 1 small yellow capsicum
• 1 zucchini
• 1 red onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 225 g dried whole wheat spaghetti
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons clear honey
• 100 g feta cheese
• baby spinach leaves, to garnish

Directions:

1. Trim the eggplants and cut into small, equal-sized pieces; deseed and chop the capsicums; peel, trim and chop the onion; peel and chop the garlic. Put the onion and garlic in a bowl and toss in the lemon juice.
2. Cook the pasta in a pan or wok of lightly salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Drain well and return to the pan or wok and toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a separate pan or wok, and cook all the vegetables over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are just tender. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and the honey.
4. Add the pasta to the vegetables and toss gently until they are well-combined. Crumble the feta cheese over the dish, season with pepper and garnish with baby spinach leaves or your favourite herb and serve immediately.
5. Variation: For a milder taste, perhaps for children, use mozzarella cheese instead of feta.

Reviews

[Sharon123]

Yum! I loved the flavors! I used half of a large eggplant, yellow and green bell peppers, didn't have zucchini, so used carrots instead. Thank you for a delicious meal!!

[Roxygirl in Colorado]

This dish is "the best." It reminded me of my favorite dish that got discontinued off my local restaurant's menu.If I remember correctly, that dish also had red pepper flakes, pine nuts, and raisins (which I will sometime try adding). The vinegar/honey mixture added such a delightful syrup-y sweet flavor to the veggies. I hadn't eaten wheat pasta in several years and I now remember that I used to enjoy it with feta (the saltiness of the cheese goes great with the wheat taste). Thanks Bluemoon for this fabulous tasting, yet very healthy dinner! Roxygirl

[Kittencalskitchen]

Since I cook eggplants regularly, it is one of our favorite veggies, I had to make this recipe!I followed this recipe exactly and used jalapeno peppers, and increased the garlic, although my DH was not too sure about this, I loved it! it has a lot of different flavors going on here, I liked the addition of balsamic vinegar, another ingredient I use often..I used regular spaghetti in place of whole wheat, and added in some browned chicken breast for for protein for my DH. This is a wonderful vegetarian meal omitting the chicken of coarse. Thank you for sharing!...Kitten:)