Kitchen Sink Spaghetti with Asparagus, Eggplant and Everything Else You Have in the House - Recipe

Kitchen Sink Spaghetti with Asparagus, Eggplant and Everything Else You Have in the House
Vegetarian; vegan if you omit the cheese; gluten-free if you use a gluten-free pasta (are those any good?)
Serves 4

• 1 pound high-quality spaghetti noodles
• 1/2 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), or walnuts, hazelnuts or pine nuts
• 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick slabs
• 1 large bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced on a diagonal, about 1/4" thick
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam
• 1 chipotle chili pepper (from a can of chipotle in adobo), mashed
• 1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
• 1 cup of jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2 of said lemon
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound smoked mozzarella, rind removed, cubed
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with 2 tablespoons of salt.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over a medium low flame. Add the pepitas and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Reserve.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and raise heat to medium high. Add the eggplant in a single layer. Cook for 5 minutes on one side, flip and season with salt. Cook until thoroughly tender and easily pierced with a fork. Remove and reserve, dicing when cool enough to handle.
4. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, along with the asparagus and 1 teaspoon of salt. Saute, stirring occasionally until crisp-tender and bright green. Don't overcook, it will get heated more later.
5. Now to make the sauce. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, along with the onion, garlic and rosemary. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and onion jam, chipotle pepper, wine and lemon juice. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally. This stuff will seem too thick to be a sauce, but wait for it... step 9 will reveal all.
6. At this point, if you have everything else prepared, you can drop the pasta.
7. After the pasta has cooked about 5 minutes, add the asparagus, eggplant and roasted red peppers back to the saute pan and stir.
8. When the pasta is nearly done, but definitely still al dente, reserve one cup of the cooking water and drain the rest. Return the pasta to the pot.
9. Scrape the contents of the saute pan, getting all the flavorful bits, on top of the pasta and turn the heat back to medium low. Toss, and then add some or all of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen the consistency. Because the pasta water has starch, salt, and sweetness, it will thin the sauce without greatly diluting your flavors. Taste and adjust for salt.
10. Finally, add the basil leaves, tearing as you go, the lemon zest, the smoked mozzarella, several aggressive grinds of fresh black pepper, and the pepitas. Give it all one final toss, and serve it forth in heated bowls. (Or for a slightly more refined presentation, dish up the pasta as of step 7 and garnish with the remaining items).