Pasta Alla Norma
Recipe by Fran Allen
Ingredients
12
Time
45m
Serves
4
A quick and nutritious pasta dish. A perfect quick meal loaded with lots of veggies. Originally from Sicily, I’ve recreated this dish to be a bit faster to make. By roasting the eggplant instead of frying it adds a nice caramelization and wonderful texture to the sauce I like to serve this alongside some spicy sausages or a bright green salad.
Dinner
Kid-Friendly
Ingredients
1 1/2lbs
Eggplant
1/2cup
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1tsp
Kosher Salt
1/2tsp
Black Pepper
2
Large Garlic Cloves
1tsp
Chili Flakes
2Tbsp
Tomato Paste
1can
Canned Whole Tomatoes
1tsp
Dried Oregano
1lb
Pipe Rigate Pasta
1/2cup
Fresh Basil
1/2cup
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
1
Preheat the oven to 425°. Dice your eggplant and add to a baking dish with 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil, salt and chili flakes. Roast the eggplant until golden and tender (about 25 min).
2
Meanwhile, in a pot of medium heat, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Cook the garlic and chili flakes until fragrant. Then add your tomato paste. Cook down the paste until it is deep red, then add your can of tomatoes. Try to crush each tomato by hand or with a spoon to create a rustic texture to your sauce. Add your salt, pepper and oregano and simmer the sauce on low.
3
Once the eggplant is golden brown and tender add it to your simmering sauce.
4
Cook your pasta, according to the instructions, making sure to under cook it just slightly. Reserve ½ a cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add the undercooked pasta to the sauce and combine. Continue to finish the pasta cooking directly in the sauce and slowly add 1-2 Tbsp of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and sauce if needed.
5
Finish by serving with fresh basil and grated parmesan on top.
6
Notes: To make this dish gluten-free simply use a gf noodle of your choice. To make this dish dairy-free substitute the parmesan cheese with a dairy-free alternative or omit.
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Fran Allen, CNP is a non-diet certified Holistic Nutritionist based in Toronto. Her work focuses on intuitive eating, achieving health at every size and dismantling diet culture. She uses her years of professional culinary experience to make meals fun, easy and satisfying.