Sicilian Pasta With Eggplant Food

PASTA ALLA NORMA RECIPE

Steps:

• Slice and Salt the Eggplant. Trim the eggplant and partially peel them in a striped pattern (zebra pattern). Slice them into ½ inch thick rounds. Season the eggplant slices with kosher salt on both sides and lay them flat for a few minutes (up to 30 minutes if you have the time). Wipe the eggplant dry and remove excess salt using a paper towel.
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Roast the eggplant. Brush the bottom of a large sheet pan (or two) with extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the eggplant slices in the pans in one single layer (eggplant slices should not overlap, each should be comfortably touching the bottom of the sheet pan). Roast in the heated oven until deeply golden brown, anywhere from 35 to 40 minutes, turning over mid-way through.
• Make the Sauce. Meanwhile, get going on the sauce. In a large deep pan, heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, lower the heat and cook, tossing regularly, until the garlic gains a little bit of color. Add the tomatoes (with their juices), oregano and a good pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a quick boil, then lower the heat and let simmer briefly.
• When ready, add the roasted eggplant to sauce. Let simmer while you cook the pasta.
• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package instructions (mine took about 11 minutes). Drain and combine the pasta with the eggplant and sauce (if needed, add a little bit of the pasta water and toss until the pasta is well-coated). Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Add chopped parsley and grated ricotta salata cheese to finish.

PASTA ALLA NORMA (EGGPLANT PASTA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 240°C / 450°F (220°C fan). Line a tray with baking / parchment paper.
• Toss eggplant with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on the tray and roast for 20 minutes.
• Flip, then roast for a further 5 minutes. Cool on tray (this helps the eggplant hold its shape when tossing).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Start cooking the pasta a couple of minutes after you start making the sauce (next section), until al dente or to your liking.
• Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook for 20 seconds until golden, then add onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent and cooked through.
• Increase heat to medium-high and add wine, if using. Let it simmer, scraping the base of the pan to deglaze, until the wine mostly evaporates.
• Add tomato passata. Now pour the water into the passata bottle, screw on the lid, shake, and pour that in too (waste nothing!)
• Add dried herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer 5 minutes.
• Stir in eggplant, then add cooked and drained pasta. GENTLY toss until pasta is coated in the sauce (so the eggplant doesn't turn into complete mush!).
• Serve immediately, garnished with a good pinch of fresh basil and parmesan.

SICILIAN PENNE WITH SWORDFISH AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, red chili flakes, and 1/4 cup parsley. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside. Season the swordfish cubes with salt and pepper.
• Using the same pan, over medium-high heat, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and cook the swordfish until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, cooked pasta, the remaining 1/3 cup parsley and stir. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

SICILIAN TIMBALLO

Steps:

• Get authentic Sicilian Anelletti Pasta HERE Make the Crust: In a stand mixer, add the flour, salt and the butter cut in cubes. Let the flour absorb all the butter. Add the eggs and let them mix well. Add enough milk (about 1/4 + Cups) until you have a firm ball of dough. Let it rest. Prepare the Eggplant: Wash, peel and slice the eggplant longways about 1/4" tick. Lightly fry all the eggplant slices in olive oil and set aside. Boil the Pasta: In salted water, cook the Anelletti pasta to just before Al Dente. Drain the pasta, blanch it with very cold water and set aside. Make the Meat Sauce: Add 3 Tbs of EV olive oil in a pot followed by the garlic. Once the garlic turns blonde, add the chopped meat. Let the meat brown and add the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate and add the bay leaves to be removed once the sauce has cooked and cooled off. Add salt and Peperoncino, as desired, and the fresh parsley. Add the crushed tomatoes and the peas. Let the sauce cook for about 5 mins., set aside to cool. Assembly the Timballo: Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9" spring-form pan. Mix the pasta and the meat sauce. Take the dough and split it 60/40. Take the larger piece of dough and roll it with a pin to about 1/4" thick and large enough that will line the bottom and the sides of the pan. Place the rolled dough in the pan and cut any excess dough overflowing from the sides. Line the borders of the pan with slices of eggplant with half hanging from the sides of the pan. Line the bottom of the pan with eggplant as well. Line the bottom with a layer of mozzarella. Cover the mozzarella with a layer of pasta until midway into the pan. Add a layer of eggplant and a layer of mozzarella. Cover to the top with pasta to form a little dome. Add another layer of mozzarella and flip over it the eggplant hanging from the sides of the pan. Roll the remaining dough to 1/4" and place over the pan to seal the entire Timballo. Cut any excess dough hanging from the sides and with your fingers seal the bottom and top dough together. Decorate the top of the Timballo as desired and give it a good coating of egg wash. Bake for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours until you have the desired color on top.

SICILIAN PASTA

Steps:

• Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until transparent.
• Add tomatoes, eggplant and basil. Cook approximately 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.
• Add tomato/eggplant mixture to pasta; add mozzarella cheese and stir well.
• Serve immediately.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT LASAGNA | LASAGNE ALLA NORMA

Steps:

• In a sauce pan pour the tomato passata, add two cloves of garlic, 2/3 basil leaves and a pinch of fine salt to taste. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. The tomato sauce have to be quite runny. So if you see that it's too thick add some water. That's necessary to bake lasagna noodles. When ready, turn off the heat and set aside.
• After washing and drying the eggplants, slice them lengthwise. Make some slices about 1 cm (half an inch) thick. Then cut the ends of the eggplant into cubes (the first and last slice).
• Fry the eggplant in plenty of extra virgin olive oil, both the slices and the cubes. Fry them to a temperature of 170° C (340 F). Do not exceed the recommended temperature: check with a kitchen thermometer. Drain with a skimmer and place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Set aside
• Place the fresh ricotta in a bowl. Add two or three tablespoons of tomato sauce and mix everything until you get a reddish, homogeneous and thick cream. Set aside.
• Take a 13×9 inch lasagna pan and spread a little ricotta cream on the bottom. Then place the first layer of lasagna. Cover the lasagna with a little ricotta cream. Then add a layer of fried eggplant slices. Add 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a little grated salted ricotta.
• Keep going with the layers until you run out of ingredients, taking care to finish the last layer with only the ricotta cream on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390 F) for 20 minutes.
• When cooked, take your eggplant lasagna out of the oven and add the diced fried eggplant and more grated salted ricotta. Decorated with a few basil leaves and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

SICILIAN PENNE WITH SWORDFISH AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, red chili flakes, and 1/4 cup parsley. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside. Season the swordfish cubes with salt and pepper.
• Using the same pan, over medium-high heat, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and cook the swordfish until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, cooked pasta, the remaining 1/3 cup parsley and stir. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut the eggplants into approximate 1 inch cubes. Place in a large bowl, salt generously and cover with water. Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain, rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 400F and cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Distribute the eggplant cubes in the pans and toss with 3 tbsp. of olive oil in each pan. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium-high heat, add onion, cook for 3 minutes. Stir in celery, add a pinch of salt, lower heat, cover the pan and let the celery cook for 5 minutes.
• Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in olives, capers sugar, red wine vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the roasted eggplant and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
• Remove from heat and stir in the basil.

PASTA ALLA NORMA (SICILIAN PASTA WITH EGGPLANT, TOMATOES, AND RICOTTA SALATA) RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add as much eggplant as fits in a single layer and season with salt. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until eggplant is well browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer eggplant to a plate and set aside. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding olive oil as necessary, until all eggplant is browned.
• Add any remaining olive oil and increase heat to medium-high. Heat until olive oil is shimmering. Add garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but garlic is not browned, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until evenly incorporated and tomato paste starts to fry. Add crushed tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened into a sauce-like consistency, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.
• Add sauce to pasta and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water as necessary to thin sauce to desired consistency. Add eggplant slices and toss to combine.
• Serve pasta immediately, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, garnished with grated ricotta salata and torn basil leaves. This Recipe Appears In Sicilian-Style Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Ricotta Salata (Pasta Alla Norma)

SICILIAN PASTA WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Peel garlic. Trim stem ends of eggplants. Halve eggplants lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. In a large sieve drain tomatoes. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and squeeze to break into smaller pieces.
• In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil for pasta.
• In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat 1 cup oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry eggplant in 2 batches, turning, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer eggplant as fried with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, arranging it in one layer. Season eggplant with salt and pepper.
• Pour off oil from skillet and wipe clean with paper towels. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to skillet and cook garlic over low heat, stirring, until golden. Stir in tomatoes with any juices that have accumulated in bowl and simmer, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• While sauce is simmering, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Transfer half of tomato sauce with half of ricotta salata to a large bowl and toss with pasta and half of eggplant, adding some reserved pasta cooking water if sauce becomes too thick. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and top with remaining sauce and eggplant and some of remaining cheese.
• Garnish pasta with basil and serve remaining cheese on the side.

SICILIAN STYLE SPAGHETTI AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Slice the eggplants into 1/4-inch rounds. Toss them with 1/4 cup olive oil and some salt and pepper. Grill them until marks have formed and they are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place them onto a paper towel lined platter. Scatter over 2 cloves of sliced garlic, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice, put on a few torn basil leaves, and season it all with salt and pepper. Set aside while you make the sauce.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Cook the onions until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chile, garlic, olives and a few hand-torn basil leaves. Carefully add the tomatoes and a pinch of sugar; cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes. Add the capers, taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the spaghetti. Stir to make sure the pasta doesn't stick. Cover and return to a boil. Remove cover and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until the spaghetti is al dente. Drain and add the spaghetti to the tomato sauce. Add the cheese and mix well. Pile onto a platter and top it with the eggplant slices. Garnish with more basil leaves.