This is the ultimate comfort food with thick rigatoni pasta, ground beef, eggplant slices, and a rich orange-red garlicky tomato sauce topped with oregano and parmesan cheese crumbles.
Cooking the ground beef: Heat olive oil in a 3-quart pot over medium heat. Add garlic and ground beef to the pot, mixing and breaking up the ground meat as it cooks until it is mostly browned, about 5 minutes.
Cooking the eggplant: Add eggplant to the pot and cook until it’s very soft, stirring regularly, about 10 minutes.
Simmering the sauce: Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes and the heavy whipping cream to the pot. Mix well. Let simmer on low-medium heat until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add salt, oregano, and pepper. Mix well.
Cooking rigatoni: Cook the rigatoni according to package instructions. After cooking, drain and rinse the rigatoni with cold water. Miix the rigatoni with the bolognese sauce. Serve immediately.