This easy pasta is full of goodness
There is a reason I’ve made this traditional pasta dish for such a long time, it’s just so easy and so tasty.
There is a reason I’ve made this traditional pasta dish for such a long time, it’s just so easy and so tasty. I like to roast the eggplant before adding it to the sauce, as I find it adds more flavour. Try also my other dishes: chicken and sweetcorn soup and chicken korma curry pie.
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Pasta alla norma
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (approximately 750g), cut into 3cm chunks
- 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 400g can crushed tomatoes with basil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped, plus
- extra leaves to serve
- 1/2-1 teaspoon chilli flakes, optional
- 400g dried rigatoni pasta (or penne or spaghetti)
- 3/4 cup fresh ricotta or 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C (fan-forced or 180C convection). Place the eggplant on a baking tray. Drizzle on 3 tablespoons of olive oil, toss to evenly coat the eggplant and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 25–30 minutes until the eggplant is golden brown and tender. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and capers and sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic, keep it moving. Add the tomato paste to the pan. Stir to combine with the onion mixture. Next add the crushed tomatoes, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, basil and chilli flakes, if using. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce slightly and develop flavour.
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Don’t let it overcook, as the rigatoni will collapse. Drain the pasta, reserving about 125ml (1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water.
- Bring it all together. Tip the cooked pasta and 3 tablespoons reserved pasta water into the sauce and gently stir. Add the roasted eggplant, gently toss to combine and cook for 2 minutes until heated through. Stir in about two-thirds of the ricotta or parmesan and add the rest of the pasta cooking water if you want a thinner sauce consistency. Spoon the pasta into serving bowls. Serve topped with the extra basil leaves and the remaining ricotta or parmesan. Serves 4
This is an edited extract from Wholesome by Sarah, by Sarah Pound. Images by Mark Roper.