Pasta Alla Norma (pasta with eggplant)
This classic Italian pasta dish is very more-ish and very easy to create. Use the best spaghetti you have available or make your own!
The thing I love about Italian food is that is is simple in the extreme, it uses the best freshest produce and you end up with something pretty amazing every time. If this is vegetarian food, then sign me up!
This is one such dish, so go all out and get glossy black eggplants, fresh green basil that looks like the promise of summer and make sure you use the best EVOO, silky pasta and authentic cheeses. It will still cost you next to nothing to feed the family with this one. And you will eat it all. I promise.
Need
- 2 large eggplants, cut into cubes
- 20 Grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) BUY
- pink salt flakes and pepper to taste BUY
-
The Sauce
- 1 brown onion peeled and halved
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 red chilli halved
- 20 Grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) BUY
- 400 Grams crushed tomatoes tinned
- 1 Handful basil leaves. Plus more for serving
- 1 Pinch pink salt flakes BUY
- 1 Teaspoon raw caster sugar BUY
-
The Rest
- 375 Grams pkg spaghetti
- 50 Grams parmesan cheese grated
- 50 Grams Homemade Thermomix Mozzarella Cheese grated Recipe
- basil leaves for garnish
Do
- 1
Preheat oven to 200°C and line a large oven tray with baking paper.
- 2
Place eggplant onto prepared tray. Drizzle with EVOO and toss to combine with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until browning. Set aside.
- 3
To make the sauce, place onion, garlic, chilli and EVOO into the Thermomix bowl and chop 4 sec/speed 6. Sauté 5 min/Varoma/speed 1. Add tomatoes, basil, salt and sugar and cook 10 min/100°C/speed soft.
- 4
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water, as per package instructions.
- 5
To serve, place spaghetti into a bowl, top with eggplant, sauce, cheeses and basil.
- 6
To grate the cheeses, place both into a clean dry Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.
Served with
Bree is a mum who has always loved cooking and baking and became a big Tenina fan when she got her first Thermomix. She was on the very first foodie trip as a customer and hasn't looked back, working for Tenina for over 5 years as a recipe tester and developer, branching out into video master for all of Tenina's lives! She still runs her baking business, creating amazing cakes and macarons for her customer list.
