Spaghetti alla Norma | Jamie Oliver spaghetti recipes (2024)

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Sicilian spaghetti alla Norma

With aubergine, baby capers & basil

  • Vegetarianv

Spaghetti alla Norma | Jamie Oliver spaghetti recipes (2)

With aubergine, baby capers & basil

  • Vegetarianv

“This is a beautifully simple, classic Sicilian pasta dish – it’s incredibly satisfying, full of flavour, and feels like a great big hug in a bowl. It also contains two of your five-a-day (bonus!), and the nutty-flavoured wholewheat pasta is much higher in fibre than the white refined stuff (double bonus!), so is a fantastic switch to make. The aubergine takes on the most amazing texture, the capers and pecorino add a lovely saltiness to the sweet tomato sauce and the chilli flakes give it a lovely warmth. ”

Serves 4

Cooks In45 minutes

DifficultySuper easy

ItalianTomatoMains

Nutrition per serving
  • Calories 409 20%

  • Fat 13g 19%

  • Saturates 3.9g 20%

  • Sugars 8.4g 9%

  • Salt 1.5g 25%

  • Protein 16.3g 33%

  • Carbs 60.6g 23%

  • Fibre 10.1g -

Of an adult's reference intake

Tap For Method

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • ½ a bunch of fresh basil , (15g)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon baby capers
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
  • 320 g dried wholewheat spaghetti
  • 50 g pecorino cheese
  • extra virgin olive oil

Tap For Method

The cost per serving below is generated by Whisk.com and is based on costs in individual supermarkets. For more information about how we calculate costs per serving read our FAQS

Tap For Ingredients

Method

  1. Chop the aubergines into rough 2cm chunks. Place into a colander in the sink, sprinkle with sea salt to draw out the moisture, then set aside for around 20 minutes.
  2. Peel and finely slice the garlic, then pick the basil leaves and finely slice the stalks.
  3. Rinse the aubergine and pat dry with kitchen paper, then place into a large bowl with the oregano, chilli flakes, a splash of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Toss together well.
  4. Drizzle a splash of olive oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the aubergines in a single layer, and fry for 5 to 8 minutes, or until softened and golden, stirring occasionally – you may need to do this in batches.
  5. Add another splash of olive oil, followed by the garlic, capers and basil stalks, then cook for a further 2 minutes, or until golden.
  6. Stir in the vinegar and the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick and glossy.
  7. Cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until al dente, which means that it should be soft enough to eat, but still have a bit of bite and firmness to it.
  8. Drain the spaghetti, reserving a cupful of the cooking water, then add a good splash of the reserved water to the aubergine sauce.
  9. Finely grate in half the cheese and tear in most of the reserved basil leaves. Add a lug of extra virgin olive oil, then season to taste.
  10. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss well, adding an extra splash of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed.
  11. Divide between bowls, grate over the remaining cheese and finish with the remaining basil scattered on top.

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© 2024 Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited

© 2024 Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited

Spaghetti alla Norma | Jamie Oliver spaghetti recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is pasta alla Norma made of? ›

Originally from Catania, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, Pasta alla Norma is a delicious Sicilian pasta made with tender eggplant and tossed in a herby tomato sauce and a sprinkle of ricotta salata cheese. This eggplant pasta recipe makes a satisfying vegetarian dinner that even meat lovers enjoy!

What pasta is from Sicily? ›

Busiate - on the west coast of Sicily around Trapani, busiate pasta reigns supreme. Made fresh with durum wheat flour and water, they come in the form of deliciously chubby, elongated helixes.

What is the secret to good spaghetti? ›

IF YOU COOK spaghetti in a big pot of water, drain it, then toss it with sauce, you are pouring a lot of flavor down the drain, says Vendemmia chef Brian Clevenger. “The trick to good pasta is cooking it in the sauce,” he says. It was while working at Delfina in San Francisco that he really started to understand why.

What is the one ingredient that makes spaghetti sauce so much better? ›

Nutmeg. Nutmeg is the key to boosting earthiness and adding a touch of nuttiness to your spaghetti sauce. Nutmeg also has a slightly sweet flavor, which we know goes great with acidic canned tomatoes. Overall, it accentuates the other ingredients in the sauce and adds complexity.

What does the word Norma mean in Italian? ›

[ feminine ] /'nɔrma/ (regola) rule , regulation , standard. norma igienica sanitary regulation.

Why is it called pasta Norma? ›

Pasta alla norma is a celebrated dish from Catania that they say got its name from the opera by Vincenzo Bellini: “Chista è 'na vera Norma!”, meaning, “This is a real Norma (i.e.: masterpiece)”, is what the famous Catanese comedy writer Nino Martoglio exclaimed when he tasted it.

What is Gigi Hadid's pasta? ›

What is the Gigi Hadid Pasta? The Gigi Hadid Pasta is nothing new, in fact it originated in Italy and is more commonly known as Spicy Vodka Pasta. It's a creamy tomato-based sauce that starts off with cooking down some onions and garlic.

What kind of pasta do real Italians eat? ›

Italy's most popular pasta is penne. This quill-shaped pasta is unusual in that it has a very precise origin. It was born in 1865, with a new device patented by Giovanni Battista Capurro in the small town of San Martino d'Albero, near Genoa.

What are the 4 types of pasta in Italy? ›

Gricia, Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, and Amatriciana are all simple pastas that share the same big flavors of Pecorino-Romano, black pepper, and—in three of the dishes—cured pork. Published Oct. 18, 2018.

What do Sicilians eat daily? ›

In Sicily the diet is strongly based on grains, vegetables, and fish. Meats and game are available, but often used in very special dishes, not everyday ones. Swordfish and tuna are the fish most frequently eaten.

Why do you not salt eggplant before cooking? ›

So, do you still need to salt eggplant in advance? To mask bitterness, not really. For the most part, farmers have selectively bred eggplants and picked varieties that tasted less bitter over the years. For most recipes, I just cut the eggplant and get cooking.

Why do you soak aubergine in milk? ›

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

How does Gordon Ramsay make the best spaghetti bolognese? ›

Recipe For Gordon Ramsay's Spaghetti Bolognese
  1. Meat. • 1/2 lb Ground beef.
  2. Produce. • 1 Carrot. • 2 cloves Garlic. • 1 Onion. ...
  3. Canned Goods. • 2 tbsp Tomato puree.
  4. Baking & Spices. • 1 tsp Black pepper. • 1 tsp Salt.
  5. Oils & Vinegars. • 2 tbsp Oil.
  6. Dairy. • 1/2 cup Whole milk.
  7. Beer, Wine & Liquor. • 2 tbsp Red wine.

What happened to Jamie Oliver pasta sauce? ›

"The Jamie Oliver pasta sauces were selling around 5000 jars a week, but this was not enough for Woolworths to keep it in the range so it has been removed in favour of other products that may deliver larger volume sales.

Do Italian cooks put sugar in spaghetti sauce? ›

Adding extra sugar to any dish may seem like an American thing, but according to Michael Chiarello, chef and owner of Bottega Restaurant, it's customary practice in southern Italian cuisine.

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