Pasta alla Norma

From Ottolenghi Simple 

The eggplant is delicious and can be made ahead and refrigerated.  The tomato sauce is simple and excellent as well.  I use either non-dairy cheese or  sprinkle nutritional yeast.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggplants (~2 lb)

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and black pepper

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1-2 mild dried chiles, seeded if you don’t want the heat

30 oz whole peeled plum tomatoes with their juice

5 large oregano sprigs (chopped instead of removed)

1 tsp sugar

10 oz spaghetti

1.5 oz mature pecorino romano or ricotta salada, shaved

1 cup basil leaves, torn

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Shave long alternating strips of peel, then cut 1/2” slices crosswise and place in a bowl with 5 Tbsp of oil, 3/4 tsp salt and generous grind of pepper.  Mix well, then spread out on two large parchment-lined baking sheets.  Roast for 30-35 minutes, until dark golden brown.  Set aside to cool.

3. Put 2 Tbsp oil into a sauté pan and place over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and chiles and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the garlic is golden brown.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, oregano, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and a grind of pepper.  Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick.  Remove the oregano sprigs (I just added the leaves to the dish) and stir in the eggplant.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti.  Cook until al dente, then strain, reserving some cooking water.  Add the spaghetti to the sauce and mix well, adding 2/3 of the pecorino and basil, and a few Tbsp of the cooking water if the sauce has become too thick. 

5. Divide the spaghetti among 4 shallow bowls, then top with the remaining pecorino, basil and 1 Tbsp of oil, and serve.