Easy Traditional Spaghetti Alla Norma
Garlicky deliciously tender eggplants with tomato sauce paired with fork-twisting pasta. Think sweet juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and all the flavors of Italy in one simple easy-to-make vegan dinner. Golden roasted eggplants and a savory tomato sauce make this easy vegan pasta recipe a totally slurp-worthy 30-minutes dinner.Easy Traditional Spaghetti Alla Norma is a flavor-loaded, super simple real food recipe that only requires 7 easy-to-get ingredients: pasta, eggplants / aubergines, onions, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh basil. It’s a healthy, silky, creamy, savory tomato sauce-bathed pasta with tender flavor soaked eggplants that has its roots firmly in the Italian kitchen.
Ingredients
- 10oz (300g) Spaghetti Noodles
- 2-3 medium Eggplants / Aubergines Cut into rough 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic Minced
- 24oz (700g) Canned chopped Tomatoes or tomato passata
- 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tbsp Capers optional
- 2 tsp Thyme
- 2 tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Sea salt or Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Ground Pepper
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar only if needed
- 1 bunch Fresh Basil Chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F (240C) and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the cubed eggplants on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat all the eggplants and bake in the oven for 20 minutes (toss them over halfway through).
- While the eggplants are roasting, heat olive oil in a large pan. Add the red onions and let them sweat at medium heat while stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Next, add the garlic to the pan and fry for one minute. Season with thyme, oregano, pepper, and sea salt and mix together. Next, add the capers and red wine vinegar. Pour in the passata or canned tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a boil before adding the water. Add brown sugar if needed (if the tomatoes are sweet you might not need to add sugar). Let the sauce simmer at low heat until the eggplants are done.
- Cook spaghetti as instructed on the packaging.Once the eggplants are roasted, remove them from the oven and add them to the pasta sauce. Top the sauce generously over the cooked pasta and garnish with fresh chopped basil. Enjoy.