Cooking pasta. As in cooking like rice. Pasta Alla Norma

Southwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7, then veering northwest later, 4 or 5.

Slight, occasionally moderate.

Occasional rain.

Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

 

 

Yes, I know. I promised to write a “chicken (soup) for the soul” recipe, and I can assure you I will. I just encountered some hurdles and need more time.

Today`s recipe is more about a cooking technique than the actual recipe. To be perfectly honest I thought I have already written about it, but when I pointed a colleague at my blog to have a look at it, she said that it is not there. So here we go.

My colleague loves food and cooking but due to some circumstances, which can only happen in modern day Britain, she is without a flat. I wont get into a tirade how someone, who works full time, can end up in a hostel, just saying that she is in one. But has money to feed herself properly, albeit just one electric cooking plate. One! Mind you, she is well off, most hostels have only a microwave and there are still some people bleating that poor people should cook more.

Nevertheless, we discussed the simple problem of cooking pasta and I promised to write a recipe down for her. Which I did. Somehow it did not end here and the picture is lost, so this is my creation from today.

Many, many years ago I was at a “Food and Drink Exhibition” and the brilliant Valentina Harris gave a cookery  demonstration. She was very strict about the right way to cook pasta “The pasta must be in water as salty as the sea and it must surf on the rolling waves”. This is how I was taught it as well.

Turns out this is only partially right. If you ever wonder about any cookery technique, and if it holds up to a scientific test, look no further than seriouseats and the awe inspiring J. Kenji López-Alt (just noticed that seriouseats has today a feature on Sabich= well, you heard it here first!) He did the pasta test and I can only encourage you to read it here. 

Basically he says that, apart from thin long noodles, the big pot issue is nonsense. So I tried it out. Several times. And he is right.

So one day I was contemplating my favourite pasta dish, Pasta Alla Puttanesca (whore/slut/tart`s pasta) , and, since I had no spaghetti but only some kind of robust pasta, I thought: “why waste another pot. If you can cook pasta in very little water, you can also cook it in the sauce”. Encouraged by the fact that some already did it with big success I tried it out. And it worked like a dream. In fact it works so well that you don’t have to worry if your pasta is on the wrong side of “al dente”, try it and if it is undercooked, just add a bit more water to the sauce. The recipe I gave my colleague was my take on a “one pot Pasta Alla Puttanesca”, but today`s recipe is with my favourite ingredient, aubergine.

Pasta Alla Norma

You will notice that I salt the aubergines first. This is an old technique to get rid of the bitterness of aubergines. If you buy nowadays your aubergines at a supermarket they wont taste bitter anymore, this has been bred out in the last two decades. If you buy them from a farmer`s market, be always better safe than sorry. However: If you salt them before frying, they take up less oil. And boy, fried aubergines soak up (expensive) olive oil like a sponge. So, while this is an annoying time consuming step, do it for the sake of your waistline and purse.

A good handful of robust pasta (I used Capunti, but feel free to use any other similar shape)

1 jar of peeled whole tomatoes (I used Cosi Come Italian Red Datterini Tomatoes in Water 350g )

1 small aubergine, cut into 3 cm cubes

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

About 8 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 pinch of dried chilli peppers (optional)

8 large basil leaves, torn in half

3 tsp of Mascarpone

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Cut the aubergine into 3cm dice, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander for at least 1 hour. Wash the salt and juices away and pat dry.

Heat 6 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add as much aubergine as fits in a single layer.  Cook, shaking pan occasionally, and turn until the aubergine is well browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer aubergine with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the aubergines if necessary (I did not need a second go). Once all the aubergines are cooked, pour the oil away, but leave a very small amount. Add the other 2 tbsp of olive oil and increase heat to medium-high. Heat until olive oil is shimmering. Add garlic, shallots, oregano and pepper flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but garlic is not browned, about 30 seconds to one minute.

Add the contents of your tin of tomatoes and mix. Add generously salt. Add all the pasta and fill the tin/jar with water and add to the mixture.

See the picture below how it should look.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened into a sauce-like consistency, and the pasta is on the hard side of "al dente", about 10-13 minutes (depending on your shape).

Once the pasta is nearly cooked, add the fried aubergines and give it another 2 minutes.

Spoon onto a plate and top generously with the basil. Add the Mascarpone on top and add pepper.

Serve. Just before eating, mix the Mascarpone and the basil under the pasta and wait for a few seconds.

Enjoy with a glass of red wine.