Pasta Alla Norma

Instructions

• Cut the eggplant lengthwise into slices about 1 cm (⅓ inch) thick, sprinkle with salt and layer in a colander. Leave for at least 30 minutes to drain off any bitter juices. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan, rinse and dry the eggplant, then fry in batches until lightly golden.
• Cut the fried eggplant into chunks (keeping some whole pieces aside for garnish). In a separate pan, heat the olive oil with the whole, peeled garlic clove then add the strips of eggplant (that you set aside for garnish) followed by the tomato purée (known as passata in Italy) and a fresh basil leaf. Leave to cook gently until the tomato sauce becomes dense and sweet. When the sauce is almost ready, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the macaroni pasta until al dente. Drain and add to the sauce, remove the garlic clove and mix well.
• Divide into four bowls and top each with the reserved slices of eggplant, a grating of salted ricotta and a leaf of fresh basil.