3 Cheese Pasta with Eggplant

What is it?

Two 185-gram paper trays hold penne with fried eggplant in a crushed tomato sauce, then a bechamel folded with cultured butter and flour. On top are mozzarella, smoked provola, and a hard grating cheese, so the sauce lands richer and thicker than a standard tomato-and-veg pasta. It heats in the microwave or oven, and it’s vegetarian. Compared with other frozen pasta meals in Trader Joe’s lineup, this one leans closer to pasta alla Norma, though the three-cheese sauce pulls it away from the classic Sicilian version and toward a denser, creamier bake.