I am getting behind on posting recipes. This weekend, I picked up a couple small eggplant and had picked up a spaghetti squash a couple weeks ago. While I was thinking about what to make with the eggplant, I realized it has been quite a while since I have made one of my favorite Sicilian dishes, Pasta a la Norma. This is a spaghetti dish with a basic tomato sauce topped with fried eggplant and then finally grated ricotta salata. The ricotta salata makes the dish rich and beautiful. I learned about the dish from our Italian postdoctoral fellow, Alessia Meneghin, when I was in grad school. For many reasons, I haven't really made it over the last few years. Since it is low in protein, it has to be relegated to a side dish for me now (since the gastric surgery). Also, pasta is hard for me since the surgery. But since I had the spaghetti squash, I decided to make it with that as a substitute for the pasta. And since I had also picked up a bunch of Roma tomatoes at the farmers market, I decided to make a slow-roasted tomato sauce instead of my traditional stove-top sauce. What resulted was so yummy, I can't wait to make it again!
Low-Carb "Pasta" a la Norma
Adapted from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/dining/a-recipe-for-pasta-alla-norma-mark-bittmans-way.html?_r=0
- 8 ripe Roma tomatoes*
- olive oil
- dried basil
- garlic powder
- 2 small eggplant*
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper
- medium spaghetti squash*
- 2 oz ricotta salata, finely grated
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with foil. Wash tomatoes and cut in half. Arrange on baking sheet and drizzle (or use an oil sprayer) tomatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle with dried basil. Roast for 30 minutes at 275. Stir and roast another 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 225. Sprinkle with garlic powder and roast at 225 for another hour. If the tomato halves look like they are drying out, remove them from the heat. Place the tomato halves into a blender and puree. Season as needed with salt & pepper.
While the tomatoes are roasting, cut eggplants in half. Heat oil over medium-high heat and cook eggplant pieces until nicely browned (oil should bubble the whole time). Remove from heat and cool. When cool enough to handle, slice eggplant. Set aside.
Raise temperature in oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down onto a prepared baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce with a fork. Allow to cool until easily handled and then pull the flesh into strands with a fork.
To assemble: put spaghetti squash onto a plate. Spoon sauce over "noodles" and then top with eggplant. Finally, sprinkle with ricotta salata.
*farmers market ingredients
Looks good.
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