Eggplant and Pasta from @MaddieDayAuthor #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, with a fresh-ingredient pasta dish you're going to love, and a giveaway! 

I debated whether I should title this dish Eggplant-Shrimp Stroganoff, or Rataouille Pasta, or Garden Delicious Dinner. I went simple with Eggplant and Pasta. 

But does it matter, when food showcases what's fresh and delicious of the season? I had eggplants. I had tomatoes. And garlic and basil, all from my back yard and all certainly available in local farm stands and farmers' markets. Plus shrimp in the freezer (always), and I happened to have a small unopened container of sour cream. Improvising I went. As you'll see, you can omit the shrimp. Or the sour cream. Or even the pasta!

I made up this recipe on the spot, so forgive me if it's a bit vague. What isn't vague is how good it tasted. 😎

Eggplant and Pasta

Ingredients

Olive oil

Half large onion, minced

Five Asian eggplants; four cups sliced

Eight paste/Roma tomatoes; four cups sliced

2 cloves minced garlic

Big handful fresh basil, slivered

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 lb thawed and shelled large shrimp

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 pound spaghetti or other pasta

Directions

Saute onion in two tablespoons olive oil at medium-low temperature until tender.  Add eggplant and continue sauteing. Add more oil if needed.

When eggplant is tender, add garlic and stir for one minute (never let garlic brown), then add tomatoes and herbs. Stir to combine. 

Cover and let cook ten minutes. Uncover and stir. If it's too liquid, turn up head and leave lid off. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate pot, boil water for pasta. After the pasta is cooking, uncover the sauce and add the shrimp. 

Stir gently until shrimp is just opaque. 

Stir in sour cream, cover, and turn off heat. Serves four in a pinch, or two with leftovers.

Serve sauce over pasta with a grind of fresh parmesan, a green salad, and a glass of wine. Enjoy!

Readers: What's your favorite eggplant dish? Do you enjoy cooking with summer produce, or would you rather eat the fruits of someone else's labor? I'll send one lucky reader my last ARC of Murder in a Cape Cottage!

My most recent release is Batter Off Dead, Country Store Mystery #10, out now!

My next release is Murder in a Cape Cottage, the fourth Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, out September 27.

"Scarfed Down," my Country Store novella in the collection Christmas Scarf Murder releases the same day.

Readers: What's your favorite summer pasta and/or vegetable dish? I'll send one lucky commenter my very last ARC of Murder in a Cape Cottage!

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.