PASTA alla NORMA
Serves four
INGREDIENTS
3 eggplants (2 lb)
½ cup olive oil salt and black pepper
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1-2 mild dried chiles (seeded if you don’t want the heat)
2 (14.5 oz) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes with their juice
5 large oregano sprigs
1 tsp sugar
10 oz spaghetti
1½ oz mature pecorino romana
(or ricotta salata), shaved
1 cup basil leaves, torn
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Using a peeler and working from rop ro bottom of each explant. shave off long alternating strps of peel so that they look serped, like zebras Cut crosswise intels-inchlem sices and place in a bowl with 2 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. ungil dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Put 2 tsp of oil into a sauté pan and place over misdium-high heat. Add the garlic and chiles and fry for 1-2 minutes, string 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.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente. then strain. reserving some cooling water. Add 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.
- Divide the spaghetti into four shallow bowls.
(Source: Ottolenghi’s “SIMPLE” cookbook)
