Pasta Norma

Pasta Norma

serves 4

A couple of years ago while holidaying in Sicily, I discovered this simple, rustic dish. We ate in this small restaurant away from the tourist spots, no English was spoken and the menu was limited to pizzas and a few simple pasta dishes. Everything they prepared was home grown or what was bought at the market down the road.







Ingredients

2 medium eggplants 500g
4 cloves garlic crushed
400g tin crushed tomatoes
1 teas dried oregano
pinch chilli flakes
1 handful basil leaves roughly chopped
3 tbs grated Parmesan
200g salted ricotta
500g linguine
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
Cut the eggplant into finger size batons.
Heat 2tbs of olive oil in a large pan and fry eggplant in batches, remove and set aside.
Add extra oil to the pan and fry the garlic and chilli flakes for 20 seconds.
Add crushed tomatoes and oregano and cook for 10 minutes.
Return the eggplant to the pan season with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauce along with the basil and cheeses.


If you can't get salted ricotta get the best fresh ricotta you can. You may need to adjust the seasoning if using plain ricotta.