chicken with eggplant and pasta casserole

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
• 6 chicken thighs
• 1 pinch garlic powder, or more to taste
• 1/2 cup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
• 2 leaves fresh sweet basil, chopped
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese, or to taste (optional)

Recipe

Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 55 mins Ready Time: 1 hr 45 mins


• grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. drain and transfer pasta to the prepared baking dish.
• place eggplant slices in a large pot of lightly salted water. let eggplant soak to help remove some of the bitterness, about 30 minutes. drain and pat eggplant strips with a paper towel to dry; transfer to a baking sheet. brush eggplant with about 2 tablespoons olive oil; season with 2 teaspoons garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; saute eggplant until slightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. spread cooked eggplant over pasta.
• pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into the same skillet; saute onion and mushrooms until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. spread onion mixture over eggplant layer.
• season chicken thighs with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
• pour remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil into the same skillet; cook chicken until browned, about 5 minutes per side. arrange chicken on the onion layer.
• preheat oven to 400 degrees f (200 degrees c).
• pour into the skillet, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. add water, tomato paste, oregano, basil, and rosemary leaves; cook and stir until sauce is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. add chicken to the sauce, cover skillet, decrease heat to low, and simmer while oven preheats, 5 to 10 minutes.
• arrange chicken atop the onion layer and pour sauce over chicken and vegetables. cover dish with aluminum foil.
• bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes. an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of chicken should read 165 degrees f (74 degrees c). sprinkle parmesan-romano cheese over chicken.