Rigatoni With Zucchini And Eggplant - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 large zucchini (sliced in 1/4-inch half moons)
1/2 medium eggplant (cubed)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 bell pepper (seeded & chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
3 tablespoons water ((more as needed)
14 ounces tofu, mashed ((lowfat)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil (divided)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (divided)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes ((optional)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt ((divided)
8 ounces pasta (rigatoni or other small tubular pasta)
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (fire roasted, if available)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0.
Boil pasta according to package directions, cooking until just barely tender (a little undercooked is better than overcooked). When it's done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
While the pasta's cooking, saute the eggplant, zucchini, onions, bell pepper and garlic in 2 tablespoons water in a nonstick pan over medium heat, adding more water if needed to prevent sticking. When the vegetables are tender, add the reserved pasta cooking water, 1 teaspoons basil, 1 teaspoons oregano, the rosemary, 1 teaspoons salt, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; stir, and keep warm.
Combine the mashed tofu with the pine nuts, parsley, nutritional yeast, and remaining basil, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir the cooked rigatoni into the tofu.
Lightly coat a 4-quart casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spread a thin layer of the vegetable mixture over the bottom (you just want a little sauce there to keep the pasta from sticking). Place a layer of half the pasta mixture, then cover with half the sauteed vegetables; repeat layers.
Cover the casserole and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with soy Parmesan cheese, if you want.
This is a great dish to serve to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Unfortunately, if you bring it to the Unitarian church in my town, you won't have any leftovers to bring home!