Tagliatelle with Mediterranean Vegetables and Pesto

1.Chop aubergine into strips or however you prefer, put into a bowl and sprinke with salt and shake around - leave while you prepare other veg (this is because aubergine can taste bitter and the salt takes that away.)

2.Chop onion, chop peppers into short strips

3.Heat some oil in a large frying pan, once hot add the garlic, the chilli and the red onion, cook until onion is soft and just starting to brown

4.Add the peppers and cook until they are mostly soft but still a slight crunch

5.Add aubergine and cook the whole lot together, adding generous amounts of black pepper
- make sure the aubergine has darkened and softened (so the colour is a bit mushroom like)

6.Add the cream cheese and pesto, mix it all together with the vegetables,

8.In the meantime as the sauce is simmering boil some water for the pasta, add about half the pack in and cook as per the packet instructions (usually about 4 minutes) - I sometimes slightly undercook mine because it will soften further once it gets into the sauce mixture and you don't want it to be over done

9. Once cooked, drain the pasta and add it to the veg and sauce mix, you will need to mix it all together for awhile. Add more pepper if you think it needs it, cook for a further two minutes and then serve with a salad and parmasan cheese on top

To serve:
I usually serve it with the following salad:
Baby spinach leaves, with plum tomato halves, cucumber strips and one avacado, sprinked with pine nuts (dry toasted in a saucepan first) and with a basil/pesto based salad dressing