Pasta A La Norma (eggplant & Tomato Sauce)

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggplants, sliced (you can peel if you like, personally i like the skin)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 tomatoes, diced (you can peel and de-seed if you like)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• pepper
• fresh basil
• 375 g wholewheat penne pasta (that's 1 regular box for me)

Recipe

• 1 using a heavy bottomed pot or large sautee pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. once warm, add the onions and salt, let them cook over medium low heat until nicely browned. stir often to prevent burning.
• 2 cut the eggplants into about 1/2 inch slices. place them in a colander, sprinkling each piece with salt. put a plate on top and some kind of weight to press the plate down (a tin of beans works well). leave that to sit for about 15 minutes.
• 3 while you wait, cut up your tomatoes.
• 4 back to the onions, add in the garlic now and let that cook for a few minutes. then add in the diced tomatoes and salt.
• 5 pat your eggplant slices dry, dice them up and add to the sauce. leave the sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes,
• 6 while the sauce simmers, cook the pasta al dente. drain, then add into the sauce along with some fresh chopped basil. mix well but gently and serve with some fresh basil sprinkled on top.