• Home
  • Table Cloth
  • Sightseeing
  • Quick Bite
  • Plate Exhibition
  • The Concept
  • Lets Work Together
FoodLoose Blog
  • Home
  • Table Cloth
  • Sightseeing
  • Quick Bite
  • Plate Exhibition
  • The Concept
  • Lets Work Together
Rigatoni alla Norma

Rigatoni alla Norma

Preparation time:

  • 40mins

 

Specialty:

  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Gluten-free (optional)

 

Pasta alla Norma is one of the most famous and traditional pasta dish from Sicily! I love Sicilian food and I love Sicily! The traditional recipe is very simple as it consists of 4 main ingredients: Pasta, fresh tomatoes, eggplants and ricotta salata - it's DELICIOUS! 

 

During one of my holidays in Sicily, I went to my friend Ottavio's home and his mum cooked for us the best Pasta alla Norma I have ever eaten. I can still remember the sweet and juicy tomato sauce and the perfectly fried eggplants. Difficult to describe with words :)! Ottavio taught me how to prepare it and during these times at home in San Francisco I wanted to bring back and live those flavors and memories!

 

In my recipe I had to replace the original ricotta salata with some vegan cheese (I picked a cashew cheese) as I cannot have dairy.  

 

Ingredients:

  • Rigatoni (90g per person)
  • 1 Eggplant (1 lbs / 450g)
  • 12 Cherry Tomatoes (for 2 people) 
  • Vegan Cheese 
  • Fresh Basil
  • A Clove of Garlic
  • Extra-virgin Olive Oil 
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper (option)
  • Sea Salt

 

Instructions:

  • Dice the eggplant (cut cubes the size of a thumb) and sprinkle salt on top of each cube in order to remove the excess water. Let it rest for 10 minutes. 
  • Heat 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant until they become golden brown (usually cook for 10 minutes).
  • Once cooked, let the eggplant cubes rest on a paper towel to remove the excess oil. 
  • In a wok, simmer a clove of garlic with extra-virgin olive oil until it becomes golden.
  • Cut the cherry tomatoes into 2 pieces and add them to the wok. 
  • Once the cherry tomatoes are fully cooked, add basil and turn low heat.
  • Boil water in a pot and once the water is boiling add the pasta. The pasta needs to cook for 2 mins less than the time recommended on the box.
  • While the pasta is boiling add 2/3 tablespoons of the pasta water into the wok. This water will add a creamy texture to the pasta sauce. 
  • Add half of the eggplant cubes to the wok with the cherry tomato sauce. 
  • Drain the pasta and add it to the wok. Continue to stir until sauce is fully mixed with the pasta. Add some freshly ground black pepper. 
  • Plate the pasta and season it with some eggplant cubes, freshly chopped basil and the grated vegan cheese. 

02.07.2020

© Copyright 2020 FoodLoose. | All rights reserved.