Pasta alla Norma
Fried aubergine folded through a simple tomato sauce with torn basil and salted ricotta, which is the ingredient the dish stands or falls on.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- Revisions
- 2
Allergens
- Cereals containing gluten
- Milk
Named from the ingredients as written, including those carried in from sub-recipes. This is not a guarantee — check the labels on what you actually buy, and note that a product’s recipe can change.
Ingredients
Method
Toss the aubergine with the teaspoon of salt in a colander and leave it for 20 minutes over the sink.
Pat it thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Wet aubergine spits and will not brown.
Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high heat until a cube dropped in sizzles immediately.
Fry the aubergine in two batches for 6-8 minutes each, turning, until deep golden and collapsed.
Lift each batch onto kitchen paper with a slotted spoon.
Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta to just short of the time on the packet.
Warm the tomato sauce in a wide pan large enough to hold the pasta.
Fold three quarters of the aubergine through the sauce.
Reserve a mugful of pasta water, then drain the pasta and tip it into the sauce.
Toss over medium heat for a minute, loosening with pasta water until the sauce coats every piece.
Take the pan off the heat and tear in most of the basil.
Serve topped with the remaining aubergine, the grated ricotta salata and the last of the basil.
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