The recipe

2 servingsabout 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 180 g rigatoni or penne
  • 300 g trimmed aubergine
  • 350 g passata
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 40 g ricotta salata
  • 6 to 8 basil leaves
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional top and bottom heat. Wash and dry the aubergine, then cut into roughly two-centimetre cubes.
  2. Toss with two tablespoons of oil and a little salt, then spread in one layer on a tray. Roast for about 25 to 30 minutes, turning after fifteen. The centres must be tender.
  3. Gently warm the crushed garlic cloves in the remaining tablespoon of oil for about one minute. Add the passata, simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes and remove the garlic.
  4. Cook the pasta in salted water until just short of your preferred bite. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining.
  5. Gently combine the pasta with the sauce, most of the aubergine and an initial two tablespoons of cooking water. Finish cooking briefly, then season with pepper and a little salt.
  6. Divide between two plates. Add the remaining aubergine, torn basil and grated ricotta salata, then serve immediately.

Give the aubergine room to roast

For two servings, use 300 g aubergine, weighed after removing the stalk. Wash and dry it, then cut it into roughly two-centimetre cubes with the skin on. Toss with two tablespoons of olive oil and a small pinch of salt. Spread the pieces over a baking tray in a single layer where possible. Tightly piled cubes stay wetter and develop fewer browned edges.

At 220°C conventional top and bottom heat, allow roughly 25 to 30 minutes. Turn the cubes after about fifteen minutes and check a larger piece near the end: its middle should be tender and easy to press with a fork. Browning alone is not enough. Extend the cooking time if the centre remains spongy and firm. Roasting is a variation here; in classic pasta alla Norma, the aubergine is commonly fried.

Add ricotta salata after plating

While the vegetables roast, gently warm two lightly crushed garlic cloves in one tablespoon of olive oil. After about a minute, add 350 g passata and simmer gently for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove the garlic cloves. Cook 180 g rigatoni or penne just short of your preferred bite and save some cooking water. Gently combine the pasta, sauce and most of the aubergine so that the tender vegetable pieces do not all break down.

Ricotta salata is a firm, salted grating cheese, different from creamy fresh ricotta. Use 40 g in total and distribute it over the plated portions. Since it contributes salt, season the tomato sauce cautiously at first. Finish with a few basil leaves and the remaining aubergine. If the mixture becomes too thick before serving, loosen it with a few tablespoons of cooking water. The sauce should coat the pasta and bring the aubergine pieces together without turning soupy.