Pasta alla Norma

• servings: 3 servings
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds Eggplants

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

5 cloves Garlic thinly sliced

1-2 mild dried chiles (seeded if you don't want the heat)

2 14.5 oz Cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice

5 large Oregano sprigs

1 teaspoon Sugar

10 ounces Spaghetti

1 ½ ounces Mature Pecorino Romano (or ricotta salata), shaved

1 cup Basil leaves torn

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2. Using a peeler and working from top to bottom of each eggplant, shave off long alternating strips of peel so that they look striped, like zebras. Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices and place in a bowl with 5 tbsp of oil, 3/4 tsp salt, and a generous grind of pepper. Mix well, then spread out on two large parchment-lined baking sheets. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

3. Put 2 tbsp of oil into a saute' pan and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chiles and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden brown. Add the tomatoes and their juice, oregano, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and a grind of pepper. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Remove the oregano sprigs and stir in the eggplant. Set aside.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente, then strain, reserving some cooking water. Ad the spaghetti to the sauce and mix well, adding two-thirds of the pecorino and basil, and a few tbsp of the cooking water if the sauce has become too thick.

5. Divide the spaghetti among four shallow bowls, then top with the remaining pecorino, basil, and 1 tbsp of oil, and serve.

Notes

Yotam Ottolenghi, Simple, pp 184-185

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 1 Serving (437g)
• Calories: 517
• Total Fat: 11.0968559261677 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.61874695207346 g
• Trans Fat: 0.93030607830388 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 401.248386220229 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 90.8154307642333 g
• Dietary Fiber: 13.62880359474 g
• Total Sugars: 77.1866271694933 g
• Protein: 16.1672219571333 g