Pasta Alla Norma
Pasta Alla Norma, or pasta with eggplant and tomato.
Prep Time: 15ish minutes
Cook Time: 30ish minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings (I can never tell serving size with pasta. I want it all to myself.)
Ingredients
1 lb pasta (I use rigatoni because chunky sauce + chunky pasta = heaven, but feel free to use any shape.)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium eggplant, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch of basil (about 1/2 a cup when chopped into ribbons)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp red chili flake
grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
I’ve found this recipe works best when made in a wide saute pan with tall sides. Start by heating up a few tbsps of olive oil over medium high heat.
Once oil is hot, add red chili flake and diced onions. Saute until onion is soft and relatively translucent.
Add the diced eggplant, garlic, salt, and pepper. Saute until eggplant is soft, shrunken, and slightly golden in color.
Add tomato paste and the entire can of whole peeled tomatoes, juice and all. Give it a good stir.
Crush the tomatoes down with a fork. I only crush them a little bit because I like large chunks of tomato, but go ahead and crush them lot if you like a smoother sauce. You do you. It all tastes the same.
Turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer for 20ish minutes. Cook your pasta while the sauce simmers. Make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water just in case.
After the sauce has simmered for a while, add your cooked pasta and a whole bunch of basil to the sauce. Toss to bring everything together. If your sauce is too thick, add a little bit of pasta water and stir.
Taste. It’ll probably need more salt at this point. Re-season as needed.
Top with grated parm, crispy breadcrumbs, more basil, and a little grind of black pepper.
Serve. Enjoy. Probably have a second helping. Pro tip, this tastes just as good cold, straight out of the fridge as a midnight snack.