I’m always being asked for more vegetarian recipes but as such a big meat eater, I often find myself automatically basng my recipes around chicken, pork, beef or lamb. Having gotten a little into Meatless Mondays at the moment however, I though it was time I gave another veggie recipe a go.
This is a classic Sicilian dish traditionally made using grated ricotta salata however being in Manchester rather than Italy, I have found it rather hold to get rid of any. As a result, I’ve experimented changing the cheese for a few others including mozzarella, goat’s cheese and ricotta. If you are looking for a stronger, creamier flavour, go for the goats cheese however if you fancy the melty stringy pasta bake style cheesiness, go for the mozzarella. The smart points remain the same provided you use the amounts as stated below.
‘Pasta alla Norma’
Serves 2 = 9sp per person (Flex)
Ingredients
2 small aubergines, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Bunch of fresh basil, stalks and leaves separated
400g tin of tomatoes
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed chillies
Pinch of sugar
100g dried pasta (I used penne)
Large handful of spinach, roughly chopped
100g light mozzarella ball, diced (or 40g goat’s cheese, roughly diced or 85g ricotta cheese added in small chunks)
Method
Take a large frying pan, spray with 1kal and fry the aubergine on a high heat for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned on the outside (you may need to do this in batches).
Add the onion, garlic and basil stalks and continue to fry for another 5 minutes. Add a touch of water if the pan gets too dry (not too much as the aubergines might soak it up and go waterey).
Add the chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, oregano and crushed chillies alongside a small pinch of sugar. Season to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes while you cook the pasta.
Once cooked, drain the pasta and add to the sauce alongside a little of the chopped fresh basil leaves, spinach and the mozzarella (or cheese of your choice). Toss together and let the heat melt the cheese a little.
Top with a final sprig of basil.
Enjoy!
Made this tonight it was lovely! Really tasty but next time i wont put as much chilli flakes in as too hot for me. Very filling and low on points so win win! Love your recipes they make you forget you are dieting! ?
Hi Laura. Just made this for supper and it was divine! Nice and spicy and I adore aubergines. Thank you. Planning to work through your recipes over the next few months – bought peanut powder today so will be trying your satay stir fry next x
So glad you liked it Sally!
This was lovely. We did miss our meat but great to try something different. I had it without cheese & my partner had cheese. It worked both ways. Fab to have a healthy low point meal.
Glad you enjoyed Gemma!
I made this the other day and it was fantastic. Really full of flavour. Used mozarella but might try goats cheese next time (my fave) or ricotta salata. I’d use slightly less oragano as it is quite an overpowering flavour but am definitely going to make this a regular fixture.
I’ve just made this and it’s delicious just to let you know you can buy ricotta salata from Waitrose I got in on my Ocado weekly shop it’s quite pricey £4.99 but you could easily freeze half to use next time
Ah thank you for the tip Janine!! I will get some from there. So glad you enjoyed x
Hi Laura! I made this recipe but really fancied tuna and so I added 2 tins in, along with a red pepper, which stretched it out to 3 portions! I also put a veg stock cube in when I cooked the pasta which I think made it extra tasty! Thank you for the recipes x
Hi Laura, do you think this meal would be ok to freeze and reheat? I’m looking for a light pasta dish that I can use over night shifts. I’m always worried about reheating chicken dishes so thought this might be better xxx
Hi Lynne, I can’t see why not, just let it cool before you free it and make sure it’s piping hot and the cheese is nice and gooey before you eat ?