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. 

Tomato, chard, and spinach with toasted almonds

From Ottolenghi SIMPLE -

Very good.  I treated us to fresh caraway seeds from Fresh Market - much stronger taste than from my old McCormick's container.  

If not using right away, recipe recommends only 1 day in fridge, and add almonds when serving.  Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 tsp paprika

1.5 tsp caraway seeds

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 x 14.5 oz cans plum tomatoes

1 lb 2 oz swiss chard, stalks thinly sliced and leaves roughly chopped

salt

4.5 oz / 130 gm spinach, roughly shredded

2 limes finely zest to get 1 tsp, then juice to get 2 Tbsp

1.75 cups/ 35 gm mint, roughly chopped

1.75 cups / 35 gm dill, roughly chopped

8 green onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup/ 80 gm)

Directions:

1) Place a large saute pan with a lid, over medium heat with 2 Tbsp oil, almonds, paprika.  Fry for 2-3 minutes until the almonds are golden brown, then transfer to a bowl, discarding the oil.

2) Return pan to medium-high heat with remaining 2 Tbsp oil.  Once hot, add the caraway and garlic and fry for 1 minute, until start to sizzle and brown.  Add tomatoes with their juice, chard, and 3/4 tsp salt and stir through, crushing the tomatoes as you go.  Cover the pan and continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while, until the chard wilts and the tomatoes break down.  Remove from the heat, stir in the spinach, lime zest, lime juice, mint, dill, and green onions.  Serve with the almonds sprinkled on top.