Pasta Alla Norma
Italian
Roasting the eggplant gives this version of pasta alla Norma browned edges and soft centers before it meets the tomato sauce. Give the slices enough room on the trays. If they overlap, they tend to steam and go soft without getting much color.
Start the sauce while the trays roast. The two parts can finish at different times without much trouble, since the eggplant only needs a brief toss in the sauce before the pasta goes in.
- Servings (recipe yield)
- 4 servings
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Rest / chill / soak
- Not provided
- Total time
- Not provided
Estimated times for this version of the recipe. Equipment, ingredient preparation and batch size can change the timing.
Times from the source recipe, where available.
Ingredients
- 3 aubergines (900g)
- 300g spaghetti
- 100ml olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 chilli (or 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes)
- 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 220°C fan (425°F convection). Peel alternating strips from the eggplants, then slice them crosswise about 1 cm thick.
- Toss the slices with most of the oil, salt and pepper. Spread them in one layer on lined trays and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until browned and tender.
- Warm the remaining oil in a skillet and briefly cook the garlic and chile. Add the canned tomatoes, oregano, sugar and a little salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened.
- Cook the spaghetti until al dente and reserve some of its cooking water. Fold the eggplant into the sauce, toss with the spaghetti and loosen with a splash of cooking water as needed. Finish with fresh basil.
Source: Public Domain Recipes · james-kent · Recipe source · Public-domain source license