What do you do with an eggplant?

A beautiful eggplant came in our Full Circle Box this week and we are not really eggplant people.  I have never cooked one before so I got on my favorite recipe site and started looking.  Knowing that it was just going to be Chris and I eating it as Mike's limited palate  was not going like it or even want to try it.    I found this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/rigatoni-with-eggplant-and-dried-tomatoes-139306/, and then started modifying it.   I had some cooked spaghetti noodles in the fridge from the night before so decided  they would be used in lieu of rigatoni, and I began.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a 13x9 inch glass baking dish, pour in approximately 2T olive oil.  Cut up one onion into wedges, break apart and mix in with the olive oil in the baking dish.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cut  the eggplant in half after cutting off the stem.  Rub the inside of the eggplant with olive oil.   In the baking dish move the onion over and place the eggplant in the pan cut side down.  Roast with the onions for another 15-25 minutes until the onions are golden brown and eggplant is just tender.

Next work on the tomato pesto:
In a blender add
4 oz sun dried tomatoes in oil (mine Italian seasoned already)
1/4 c almonds (I used whole almonds)
3 cloves of garlic
6 kalamata olives (pitted)
Turn on the blender and mince up.
Add 2T olive oil
and about 1/4 cup of half and half.
Mix with the blender and puree to a thick chunky pesto.

Mix with the cooked pasta. 

I then microwaved the pasta and pesto for 4 minutes as I did not like the flavor of the raw garlic.  When the onion and the eggplant was done roasting take out the eggplant.  Put the pasta mixture in the baking dish with the onion. Cut the eggplant into bite size pieces and mix with the pasta and onions.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and stick it back in the oven with the oven turned off to melt the cheese, and keep it warm while finishing up the rest of the meal.  This could be the whole meal.  Of interest  I found a bag of seafood medley at Costco today for $5 something a pound with scallops, prawns and a variety of seafood in it.  Chris asked if I added the seafood to this.  I did not but you sure could and it would be great. So another idea.