Thick Spaghetti Recipe with Cherry Tomatoes

A few fresh, seasonal ingredients—eggplant, Vidalia onion and cherry tomatoes—are all you need to whip up this tasty pasta recipe. Barilla® Thick Spaghetti  provides the perfect base. Larger in diameter than regular spaghetti, Barilla® Thick Spaghetti helps gives the pasta sauce a fuller taste. In this instance, the fresh ricotta and olive oil really get to shine.
Photo + Recipe Credit: Barilla Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni 

Ingredients:
1 box Barilla Thick Cut Spaghetti  
1 eggplant, diced
1 vidalia onion, julienned
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh ricotta
TT pepper
TT salt
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:
1. Dice and season an eggplant with salt and let it drain in a colander overnight. (This process will help get rid of excess juice which adds bitterness to the dish)
2. The following day, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Bring one large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions. Drain pasta 1 minute early, reserving 1 cup of cooking water
4. Season eggplant with extra-virgin olive oil and roast in an oven for about 15 minutes. Then, set eggplant aside to cool
5. Meanwhile, sauté Vidalia onion for 5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat
6. Next, add cherry tomatoes and blister over high heat for two minutes; season with salt and pepper
7. Add fresh ricotta and cooking for an additional three minutes
8. In a large bowl combine pasta and leftover cooking water with eggplant, basil, ricotta and onion mixture
9. Optional: add 1/2 cup of Parmigiano cheese and drizzle pasta with extra-virgin olive oil