Mario Batali's Pasta alla Norma

-
Yum Yum Yum ! Had to restrain ourselves not to eat the entire pot! I did halve the recipe. I did not salt the eggplant --the texture was great.

  • 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Red Onion (thinly sliced)
  • 2 pounds small to medium Eggplant (cut 1/4-inch cubes)
  • Salt and freshly cracked Black Pepper
  • 1 pound Penne
  • Basic Tomato Sauce
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Cheese
  • 10 fresh Basil Leaves (roughly torn)
  • 8 ounces fresh Ricotta
  • 8 ounces Ricotta Salata (for grating) ( we didn't have this)

    • Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt. Cook penne 1 minute less than the package instructions and drain.

    Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and season with salt. Saute for a few minutes until tender. Stir in the eggplant and allow to cook for 3 minutes without moving. Stir the mixture and then add the cooked noodles and some basic tomato sauce just to coat the noodles. Add freshly torn basil leaves, grated pecorino and a few drizzles of olive oil and toss to combine.

    In a medium bowl whisk together the fresh ricotta with a few tablespoons of pasta water to loosen. Serve the pasta with large dollops of the fresh ricotta and freshly grated ricotta salata.

    Helpful Tips:1. Salting the eggplant keeps the eggplant firmer while it cooks. If you prefer a creamy texture, do not salt the eggplant.
    2. Cook the pasta one minute less than the packaging instructs for an al’dente texture.

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Siri Daly's Sticky Ham Sandwiches/ Sliders GUEST BLOG

    -
    Image
    Guest blog recipe by Katie for her friends party on New Years Eve. Siri demoed this on THE TODAY SHOW.  She said they were a huge hit and did't last long! 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 tablespoon dry mustard 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon poppy seeds 1 package small sweet Hawaiian buns 1 pound sliced ham 1 pound sliced Swiss cheese 1. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, dry mustard, Worcestershire, brown sugar and poppy seeds to a boil in a saucepan.  Lower heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Set aside.   2. Slice buns in half and assemble sandwiches by adding desired amounts of ham and cheese. Place in a small baking dish (it helps if they fit snugly in there) and pour sauce all over, using a spatula to make sure they are all coated.  Cover with foil and let marinate in fridge for at least one hour, or overnight.  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325ºF. 4. Bake sandwiches for 10...
    Read more

    Mario Batali's Penne alla Vodka

    -
    Image
    We made this for dinner tonight and Kevin kept raving about the smoky flavor to it and suddenly stated you need to blog this (which I already intended to). After he went back for his final last bite finally packed up the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. We will be making this again ... and again!     6 slices Bacon 2 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced) 1 can Tomato Paste 1/4 cup Vodka 1/2 cup Heavy Cream Pinch Nutmeg 1 pound Penne 1 piece Parmigiano Reggiano (for grating)   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook penne 1 minute short of the package instructions. Drain, reserving some pasta water for sauce. In a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium heat to render out fat. Cook for about 10 minutes until cooked but not too crispy. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste darkens Stir in the vodka and cook for a few minutes to meld the flavors. Add cream and season with nutmeg and salt to taste. ...
    Read more

    Michael Symon's Ricotta Meatballs

    -
    Image
    YUM YUM YUM !!! Michael made this back in May on the Today show and again finally getting around to making it! I made the full recipe - which made 22 meatballs. I prepared it to thru the browning meatball stage then saved 4 for meatball subs the next day and froze the rest in small b atches to have over pasta or his Mascarpone polenta in the future. We wished we had more than we did for the meatball sub lunch and Kevin kept commenting how good they were. We will definitely be defrosting for pasta this week!! I took a bite so you could see how fab the meatballs were. UPDATED PIC of meatball on fresh pasta! Pomodoro sauce 1/4 cup olive oil 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 small bundle fresh oregano 1 small bundle fresh thyme Two 15-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands Basil, to garnish Meatballs Olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup mince...
    Read more