Pasta Alla Norma
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 24 oz. bottle Passata
Olive Oil #californiaoliveoil
Ricotta Salata (a hard, salty cheese similar to pecorino. Not to be confused with ricotta cheese)
Fresh Basil
1 box Bucattini #DeCecco
To start, dice the eggplant (I leave the skin on), salt it and let it sit for an hour. Salting the eggplant releases moisture so that when it comes time to frying, it won’t get soggy. It’s important not to skip this step.
Once the eggplant is finished with the salting, rinse it quickly and dry very thoroughly.
Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium/medium-high heat and fill with a good amount of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced eggplant to fry. Cook until eggplant is golden brown. Note: fry in small batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan. If you add too much eggplant at once, the temperature of the oil will drop and you won’t achieve golden brown pieces of eggplant.
Once fried, set the eggplant on a paper towel to drain and put it to the side.
In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 bottle passata, a handful of torn fresh basil (reserve some basil for serving) and salt and pepper to taste. Sinmer over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the olive oil and tomatoes become one. Make sure to stir occasionally.
Cook 1lb bucatini al dente (follow the box for timing). When the macaroni is almost done, add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and then add the drained bucatini when ready.
Give it a good stir. To serve, drizzle a small amount of olive oil to the top along with freshly torn basil and shaved Ricotta Salata.
