Desiring a weeknight pasta that didn't require a tomato sauce (homemade or a jar), I turned to the NYTimes Cooking Pasta Alla Norma recipe to complement some leftover dried spaghetti.
While the recipe was weeknight appropriate – especially by following the first recipe comment to roast the eggplant instead of saute it in copious amounts of oil – the result was good, not great. The very light sauce was spicy and flavorful, but eggplant proved to continue to confound me with its consistency.
I roasted 1/2-inch cubed eggplant at 400 degrees for 15 minutes with salt and pepper, but realized in hindsight that I should have tossed it in olive oil OR used parchment paper because the dried eggplant initially stuck to the tin foil I used to cover the pan. I continued to roast the eggplant for 30 minutes, which resulted in largely, but not completely, softened eggplant. Darn you, eggplant!
I then added the eggplant to a sauce of olive oil, one roma tomato diced, some oregano, red chili flake, and garlic powder. I then added the pasta, which was approx. ~5-6 oz. of dried spaghetti, cooked al dente.
Threw some grated parmesan on top, and an ok dinner was served! I don't know if I'll make this recipe again, but I am glad I tried it for something new!
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