This yummy pasta bake is ideal for a crowd of hungry kids or adults and is fantastic for lunch box leftovers!

Ingredients

500 g	Rigatoni
¼ cup	Olive oil
1	White onion, medium diced
4 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
0	Hellers Danish eye bacon
1	Carrot, peeled and finely diced
1	Red pepper, diced
1	Eggplant, peeled and roughly chopped into dice
1 Tbsp	Capers, optional
15	Kalamata olives, optional
1 tsp	Oregano
1 tsp	Rosemary
1 tsp	Thyme
800 g	Italian tomatoes, chopped in thick sauce
1 cup	Shaved parmesan
1 handful	Fresh italian parsley
1 drizzle	Olive oil
1 pinch	Cracked pepper, for taste
1 pinch	Salt, for taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 180C

In a large deep fry pan or heavy based pot over medium heat add ½ the olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins, now add the bacon and cook for a further 5-7 mins. Add the garlic, carrot, eggplant, red peppers and remaining olive oil and sauté for 8-10 mins until the eggplant becomes tender.

To this add the oregano, rosemary and thyme and cook for 3 mins. Add the chopped tomatoes and allow the sauce to simmer gently for 10 mins or so [do not allow it to reduce too much] until the vegetables become just tender. Season well and set aside somewhere warm.

Cook your pasta al dente to the packets instructions [usually 8 mins]. Drain the pasta and then drizzle liberally with olive oil to stop it from sticking.

Grease a large 25-30cm baking dish with butter and spread ¼ of the sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of pasta and then a light sprinkling of shaved parmesan, repeating this until the final layer. The final layer should end pasta then parmesan then sauce and then a final sprinkling of parmesan.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins.

To serve sprinkle the top of the pasta bake with parsley. Serve alongside a fresh green salad and crusty garlic bread.