Farfalle with Eggplant: Great and Summery

Will loves eggplant, so in the spring and summer, I try to cook as much of it as I can. I wasn't so sure of this particular recipe, but it turned out wonderful.
First, you take one eggplant and dice it up. Stick it in a strainer, salt it, and let it sit at least 30 minutes. Then, in a small saucepan, heat some olive oil and add some diced shallots and garlic; saute until they're just starting to brown, then add canned diced tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper; cover and simmer it for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant and pat it dry with paper towels and stick it in a skillet with olive oil and brown it. If you don't have a skillet large enough to do all of it at once, just do it in batches and keep the eggplant warm. Cook your farfalle according to the package directions, drain it, and stick it into a bowl. Pour the sauce over the top and toss it to coat, then add the eggplant on top.
By now you may have a couple of questions. First, the reason I use canned tomatoes is because I only use canned tomatoes when making sauces; only if I am serving something with fresh tomatoes will you find fresh in my house. The reason I do this is because canned tomatoes have a lot of lycopene in them; the more processed the more lycopene. Lycopene, as many of you will know, is thought to aid in the prevention of prostate cancer. As I don't know much about Will's family history, I make sure to use a lot of processed tomatoes. One thing to remember when using canned tomatoes is, never use dented cans. That can be evidence of botulism, and nobody wants that. Second, the reason to put a lid when cooking any sort of tomato sauce is, because of tomatoes' viscosity, it tends to require more force for air to be released when boiling, so it spatters all over your stove. Believe me when I say that tomato stains are the hardest stains to get out of just about everything, from counters to clothing. The reason you salt eggplant is, eggplant can get bitter if you're going to brown it, so it needs a heavy dose of salt to help counteract that.
Will and I loved this dish. It was so good that Will actually took four helpings of it.