Pasta alla Norma (Eggplant Pasta)

This is a classic Italian pasta dish from Sicily that was created after Bellini’s opera Norma, made with fried eggplant, tomatoes, ricotta, and fresh basil. As with many classic Italian dishes - only a few ingredients are needed, but they should be of excellent quality. [Recipe originally submitted to Allrecipes.it]

Step: 1

Wash eggplants, cut off the ends, and cut into 1/3-inch slices. Layer eggplant slices in a large bowl, sprinkling coarse salt over each layer. Let sit for at least 2 hours to draw out any bitterness.

Step: 2

In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook garlic until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic. Add peeled tomatoes and bring to a boil; cook until tomatoes start breaking down, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2/3 of the basil and simmer for another 3 minutes.

Step: 3

Rinse eggplant slices under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant slices in batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Cut into small cubes.

Step: 4

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.

Step: 5

Mix eggplant pieces into the tomato sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Stir in ricotta and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and remaining basil. Mix in drained spaghetti and cook until warm, about 3 minutes.

Per Serving: 770 calories; protein 26.7g; carbohydrates 115.7g; fat 24.1g; cholesterol 17.6mg; sodium 1745.5mg.

Depriving yourself can lead to lot of eat , 2.00 AM snacking, and mindless eating and it’s for this reason that Riner encourages people to indulge in “fun” foods every once in a while.

Avoidance on late-night snacking and got eat , it is much necessary to include some fun foods (or what one may perceive as unnecessary ). It means , if we can be order the healthiest thing on the menu but come home and graze on chips, necessary we really will the burger and should have just pleased it in the first place."

When it comes to dinner , much eat or eating too much of the wrong item of food will make lead to bad habit on sleeping. On the flip side, a daylight food that is not eating to much food than satiating can leave you wanting more and resulting in reaching for an unhealthy late-night snack even closer to bedtime .