Aubergine and spicy chicken with mascarpone pasta

We made this the night before leaving to the airport to visit our parents for the holidays and the flight delays made us not regret the time invested in a good meal before it :). The pasta is very creamy and the veggies have a lovely flavor that matches the pasta. The chicken is optional so feel free to remove it if you want to keep it vegetarian. Ready in about 30-45 minutes but relaxing and simple to make.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 medium aubergine (eggplant)
• 1 leek 
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 200 g pasta (we used fusilli)
• some olive oil
• a knob of butter (5-10 g)
• some salt
• some freshly ground pepper
• 1,5 teaspoon coriander
• 2 teaspoons of thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic
• half a lemon
• 200 g chicken breast
• 500 g mascarpone cheese

Prepare the veggies. Clean them and have them nearby. Cut off the aubergine's ends.

Cut the aubergine into edible bits without peeling it. Put it in a pot:

Cut the leek finely and add it to the pot:

Add a gurgle of olive oil, some sea salt and stir. Put the pot in the oven, set it on 200 degrees Celsius (or high intensity) and let them roast for the next 15 minutes. In the meantime, cut the chicken in small strips or pieces:

Put a little olive oil in a frying pan, season the meat with salt, coriander and pepper and put it in the pan:

Let the meat roast for 4-5 minutes on each side. In the meantime, get the veggies out of the oven and add the quartered cherry tomatoes. Add some more olive oil and the thyme and mix again:

Put it back in the oven and let it roast for 10 more minutes or until you finish with the pasta. Get the chicken out of the pan and set it aside. Put the pasta in some salted water and boil according to package instructions:

While the pasta boils and the veggies roast, put the butter in a pan to melt. Add some salt, pepper, the coriander and finely chopped (or smashed) garlic cloves:

Stir to help the butter melt and for everything to blend in. Add the mascarpone cheese:

Stir for 2-3 minutes until everything becomes a sauce. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the mascarpone sauce:

Mix again and remove from fire. Wait until the pasta is done, then drain it and add the mascarpone sauce over it:

Mix the sauce and the pasta fast so they become coated with creaminess while they're hot. Get the veggies out of the oven. Put the pasta and the veggies on two plates and mix them, then decorate with the coriander chicken pieces. It's ready, dig in!