Pasta alla norma made with chopped tomatoes
Pasta alla Norma is the world-famous Italian dish originating from Sicily. This exquisite Pasta alla Norma recipe is created by the talented food writer and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura.
Made with Mutti Polpa
Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes is a unique product that combines the juice of the tomato with its thinly diced flesh, and is able to retain all the freshness of just picked fruit. A very versatile product, Mutti Polpa is perfect for both quick cook dishes and dishes that cook slowly or at high temperatures. It takes 5kg of fresh tomatoes to make 1kg of Mutti Polpa. It is made by the patented Mutti cold crushing method which ensures it retains all the flavour and fragrance of a ripe tomato (and is still a closely guarded secret to this day!).
Easy
Ingredients
-
1
eggplant
(around 350g)
-
60
ml
extra virgin olive, plus extra for shallow frying
-
3
cloves
garlic, roughly chopped
-
1
x
400 tin Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes
-
Large handful of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
-
350
g
pasta such as fusilli, maccheroni or rigatoni
-
Parmesan, grated, to serve
-
Salt and pepper, to taste
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Pasta alla norma made with chopped tomatoes: Method
- Dice the eggplant into 2cm pieces. Pour enough olive oil into a small saucepan so that it’s around 1cm in depth. Shallow fry the eggplant in batches until golden on the outside and soft on the inside (around 4 minutes). Allow to drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
- Meanwhile, warm the 60ml of olive oil in a large pan over a low flame and add the garlic. Allow the garlic to perfume the oil, for about 3 minutes, stirring to avoid it browning. Increase the heat to medium and add in the Mutti Polpa and 1/4 cup of water, stir and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through the fried eggplant and basil leaves and keep warm.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of generously salted boiling water and cook until just before al dente, following the directions on the packet. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid.
- Return the pan with the sauce back onto a medium heat, tumble the pasta into the sauce, along with a ladle full of the cooking water and stir to combine. Allow the sauce and pasta to cook for a few minutes longer until the pasta is just al dente. You can continue to add in some more of the pasta water if the sauce becomes too thick.
- Season to taste and serve immediately with extra basil leaves and a generous scattering of ricotta salata.
