Cavatelli with Sausage, Eggplant, and Saffron Cream

Tonight was suppose to be Jake and Dakota cooking but Dakota didn't help much, so I ended up cooking with Jake.

He went back to the Rachael Ray cookbook. I was really surprised he picked this recipe since he doesn't like eggplant. What you will need is 1 pound of pasta (it called for Cavatelli but we used what was in the cabinet) 1/4 cup  olive oil, 2 pinches of saffron, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, 3/4 pound ground pork (we used turkey since it was in the freezer), 4 cloves garlic chopped, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 egg plant, cubed and only peel 1/2, 1 tsp thyme, 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream, and parm or romano cheese.

First start you water for your pasta. Then cook the pasta until aldenta.  Next heat a large deep skillet with 1/8 cup of olive oil, add the fennel and saffron over medium high heat. Add the turkey, cook until it's browned. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, then season with salt and pepper.  Push the meat to the sides of the pan, add the rest of the olive oil, then all of the egg plant to the center of the pan, season with salt. Cook until the eggplant is tender about 5 minutes, combine it with the meat. Add the thyme and toss, then stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the cream and reduce the heat to low. Taste and season if needed. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss the cheese into the pasta until well combined. Add some of the pasta water if needed. Serve with more cheese.

I didn't get a picture tonight. We did add a lot more seasoning to it only because we like a lot of flavor.