Pasta alla Norma is the great Sicilian pasta — roasted eggplant, rich tomato sauce, ricotta salata, the kind of dish that takes an hour and earns every minute. This is not that pasta. This is its cousin: same Sicilian backbone, same depth of tomato, ten minutes start to finish.
Stir it in. Ten minutes. Sicily on a plate.
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons Tutto Sicilia Sun Dried Tomato Paté
- 200g pasta — rigatoni or spaghetti work well
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of dried chili flakes (optional)
- Fresh basil
- Ricotta salata or parmesan to serve
- Reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Cook pasta in well-salted water. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.
- Warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just golden.
- Add chili flakes if using, then the sun dried tomato paté. Stir to warm through — about 1 minute.
- Add a good splash of pasta water and stir to loosen into a sauce.
- Add drained pasta. Toss to coat, adding more pasta water until everything is glossy and evenly covered.
- Finish with torn basil and grated cheese.
Nonna's Notes
She would have added more paté than the recipe says. She always did. Start with two tablespoons and go from there.
Sun dried tomato paté stirred through pasta is one of those combinations that makes you feel slightly embarrassed by how good it is for how little work it required. The tomatoes were dried slowly in August sun, preserved in olive oil, concentrated into something with a flavour that a fresh tomato sauce takes hours to achieve.
You stir it in. Ten minutes. Sicily on a plate.
Add the ricotta salata if you can find it. Add parm if you can't. Either way, nobody's complaining.
This is the jar you reach for on the nights when you need dinner to be good without being a project. It's earned its place in the pantry every time.
