1
StepCut the aubergine into 2 cm cubes, toss with a tablespoon of salt in a colander and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse quickly and squeeze the cubes dry in a clean tea towel — they should feel dense and slightly leathery.
Pasta & Noodles
Pasta alla Norma
Sicily's aubergine pasta: cubes fried until collapsed and sweet, folded through a simple garlic and tomato sauce with torn basil, and finished with sharp grated ricotta salata. Cheap, quick and better than the sum of its parts.
50 min
Prep: 20 / Cook: 30
4
servings
Easy
Difficulty
4.5
6 Ratings
Ingredients
- 700 g aubergine
- 400 g maccheroni
- 700 g tomato passata
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch basil
- 80 g ricotta salata
- 150 ml olive oil
- 1 pinch sugar
- 0 salt
Preparation
6 Steps
2
StepHeat most of the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and fry the aubergine in two batches, turning only when each side is deep brown, about 8 minutes a batch. Lift onto kitchen paper and season with a little salt.
3
StepWipe the pan, add the last of the oil and the sliced garlic and cook gently for a minute until it just turns blond. Pour in the passata, add the pinch of sugar and a few basil stalks, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until the sauce darkens and no longer runs watery at the edge of the pan.
4
StepMeanwhile cook the maccheroni in well salted water until al dente, saving a cup of the water before you drain.
5
StepFish out the basil stalks, fold three quarters of the aubergine into the sauce and warm through. Add the drained pasta and a splash of the cooking water and toss over the heat for a minute until every piece is coated.
6
StepServe topped with the reserved aubergine, plenty of torn basil leaves and the ricotta salata grated over at the table.
Chef's Tip
Salt the aubergine for 30 minutes and pat it properly dry before frying — wet aubergine drinks oil and steams instead of browning. No ricotta salata in the shop? A dry, hard feta grated over the top does much the same job.
Comments (3)
easiest thing i have cooked in months and it tastes like a restaurant plate
ricotta salata is impossible to find here, i grated a very dry feta and it worked
salting the aubergine first really does stop it drinking half the bottle of oil