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Oh, winter doldrums, we meet again. The holidays are a distant memory, yet spring is still far beyond my grasp. In the meantime, I’m stuck in between for the foreseeable future, which means I’m fully in a seasonal rut. It’s times like these when I not only crave all things comforting but also when I find complicated recipes as daunting as shoveling the driveway (again!). And I know I can’t be alone.
Easy slow-cooker meals, along with soups like pasta fagioli or lentil, are in heavy rotation at my house right now. Though admittedly, when I need a last-minute dinner, it’s almost always pasta. Specifically, pasta with sauce. It doesn’t get much easier than popping the top on my go-to store-bought marinara or arrabbiata, but it also isn’t the most interesting of plates. Sometimes, I crave a little something extra.
My Go-To Pasta Dinner Uses This Trader Joe's Shortcut
Andrea Lobas
Enter Trader Joe’s Grecian-Style Eggplant with Tomatoes and Onions. This brilliant condiment of sorts makes the perfect shortcut pasta sauce that packs big flavor. It’s not a new product, but it’s new to me, and I’ve already popped open a can to top my rigatoni or linguine more times than I can count the past few weeks. It’s a two-ingredient dinner that’s as simple as I need my mid-winter meals to be.
The secret to what makes TJ’s mixture so tasty is listed right on the can: fried eggplant, tomato sauce with onion, plus the requisite herbs and spices. I knew as soon as I tasted it that the eggplant had to be fried—it gives each bite depth and calls to mind another favorite of mine, Pasta alla Norma. When combined with the pasta of your choice, it evokes a satisfying yet not-too-heavy vintage classic, all for less than $2.
Once you boil the pasta and heat up the eggplant to mix in, you can also add cheese—like Parmesan, ricotta, feta, or mozzarella—and up the ante with extras like olives, capers, or fresh basil. But the easy dish works just as well unadorned when pressed for time or ingredients.
How to Use Trader Joe's Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes and Onions
Of course, this Grecian-style eggplant has many more uses beyond pasta sauce. Since I already know it works beautifully with carbs, I can safely assume it makes an amazing pizza topping or panini layer. It would also be great for leveling up lamb burgers, grilled chicken, baked fish, or even your next shakshuka.
In its simplest application, you can use it as a dipper for toasted baguette slices or pita chips, caponata style. You don’t even have to heat it.
So the next time you are too tired to cook and still want to treat yourself to a gourmet meal, remember our friend, Trader Joe, who is always good for a lot of inspiration with very little effort. And when you’re whipping this together for the third time in a row next week, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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