Eggplant Linguine Limonetta

Linguine is my favorite pasta - so tender and so flavorful.  I wanted to make something with it today and had to use the eggplant but did not want to make the standard Eggplant Parmesan dish. So, instead of using tomato based sauce which is used in the Eggplant Parmesan, I used Lemon Butter and Parsley with the Parmesan cheese.  But the best part was making up the name for this dish. Eh! Why not!

Ingredients and Method:

2 Baby Eggplants
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
4 mushrooms, washed and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Red pepper flakes
1/3 cup cream of chicken or asparagus (for vegetarian)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Generous portion of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup White wine
Fresh parsley leaves, washed and chopped
Salt and Black pepper
Linguine pasta (I used about 1/4th of a whole standard box)
2 tbsp Butter for the sauce and some more


Pasta Prep: Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Set aside.

1. EGGPLANT:
Wash the eggplants. Cut and discard the stems. Cut the eggplants into small disc shape. Soak them in water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse pat dry.  Season with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Toss well. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Place them without overcrowding them and sear them on each side (on medium heat) for about 10 minutes. Do not cover and cook. And def initely do not overbrown them.

2. COOKING THE VEGETABLES:
Prep all the remaining vegetables as written above. Heat butter in a flat bottom stainless steel skillet. Add the vegetables and sautee. Cook until tender. Set aside. The vegetable bits will have stuck to the pan. To loosen them add some wine and using a spatula loosen the stuck bits. Add handful of chopped parsley.  Turn the heat off while you prepare the sauce in the next step.

4. SAUCE:
In a bowl, whisk together, the cream of chicken or asparagus, with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and remainder of the wine.  Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a small stockpot. Add the cream of chicken or cream of asparagus concoction you just made (above) to the pot and keep stirring until its well incorporated. Add worcestershre sauce and red pepper flakes. Add all of this back to the flat bottom pan where you made the vegetables (step 2). Add back the vegetables to the pan and mix well.  Add the linguine to the pan and toss until the sauce is well incorporated with the pasta.

5. Pour the linguine with the sauce you just made at the bottom of a oven safe baking dish. Line the roasted eggplant on the top.  Top it off with freshly grated or grated parmesan cheese (do not use parmesan powder). 

6. FINAL STEP:
Preheat the oven to 350F.  Place the dish in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.  Serve hot!


Note:
1. I also added some mexican four cheese blend on the top as shown in the picture.
2. Zest is basically the shavings of a lemon.  Using a grater, grate the outer part of a lemon. 
3. And no, you cannot substitute LIME for LEMON in this dish.