We live in zone 6a and I have been gardening and cooking for years. This blog is an opportunity for me to share with you my success and those failures that come about on occasion. Plus, I want to hear from all the gardeners and bakers and cooks out there and learn from you. Feel free to share your ideas.







Sunday, August 26, 2012

Pasta Alla Norma (Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Eggplant)

On of my favorite pasta sauces includes not only tomatoes, but I like to add eggplant from the garden. Plus, the sauce freezes great, and can be used on pizza too.

Here is a great recipe from Saveur for:

Pasta Alla Norma (Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Eggplant)

SERVES 4—6

2 medium eggplants, cut into 3/4″ cubes
7 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz. can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, undrained and crushed by hand
16 fresh basil leaves, torn by hand
1 lb. bucatini or spaghetti
4 oz. ricotta salata, grated


Heat oven to 500ยบ. Put eggplant into a bowl and drizzle with 4 tbsp. oil. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Transfer eggplant to 2 baking sheets and bake, turning occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack; set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add chile flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and half the basil, season with salt, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to tomato sauce. Stir in reserved eggplant and toss to combine. Stir in remaining basil and season with salt. To serve, transfer pasta to a platter and garnish with ricotta salata.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, this looks yummy. We have a glut of eggplants and I've been looking for some options. Freezing this would be wonderful for use later in the season. One question, I didn't see anything about peeling the eggplant, is it just roasted in the oven with skin on??

    Thanks for sharing!!

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  2. 1st Man--Some people peel the egggplant and others do not. However, I do take liberties because I mix the tomatoes and the eggplant together as one sauce and add a 1/2 cup of wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth and a can of tomato sauce. Then I freeze it.

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    Replies
    1. Made this the other night, I'll post about it next week (and credit you for the referral). It was yummy. And we have a back in the freezer, ha. I didn't take step by step pics but I have a finished product picture, ha. Thanks for sharing the link.

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