Tags
Kathy Hester published a delicious-sounding recipe for Eggplant Tapenade in her book Vegan Slow Cooking for Two. (Psst! It’s also available on her website!) I packed my slow cooker away for a few months but figured I might be able to make something similar in my pressure cooker.
Instead of a chunky tapenade the results were more sauce-like. We spooned it over fresh noodles last night and our taste buds did the happy dance. Nick, who has admitted to disliking eggplant, even thought it was great. He told me that he liked how the eggplant broke down and gave the sauce a creamy texture.
To speed up the recipe, start the water boiling before you start chopping vegetables for the sauce. The sauce and pasta should all be finished about the same time.
Eggplant Tapenade Pasta Sauce
Yields approx. 3 servings
1/4 cup water
3 cups chopped eggplant
1/2 cup chopped green olives with red pepper flakes (we found these in the deli section at Safeway)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons capers
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Add everything except the balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and salt/pepper to the pressure cooker. To avoid burning the dish, layer the ingredients in the order listed, adding the tomatoes last.
Bring to high pressure and cook for four minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally or release it.
Add the vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
You can either leave it chunky or purée it in a food processor. Serve over hot pasta.
Photo by Jim, the Photographer, used with permission
What Carry Eats 
Wow, looks nice but 572 gm of sodium per 7 ounce (how many cups is that?) serving?
The sodium most likely comes from the olives. I didn’t measure out the quantity of sauce, but I would guess, the recipe makes about three cups.