Equal Parts

I haven’t found the time to make ratatouille yet this summer. As I wrote exactly one year ago, the dish requires quite a bit of “cleaning, sorting, and chopping vegetables, standing over a stove and stirring, seasoning, monitoring heat,” and, well, as a point of comparison from this year to last, I just asked to borrow my sister’s Instant Pot. (Oooh, maybe I can make ratatouille in the Instant Pot?!)

It’s a blessing in surprise, though, because we’ve found our other favorite eggplant dish: Pasta alla Norma.

I know, I know, the phrase is “blessing in disguise” (not surprise). Jeff and I can confirm that “parent brain” is real. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve driven away from the house and left the garage door open, and/or left it open all night. A week ago I tried to steam beets, and did so until way past the timer I set, until all the water evaporated, the pot turned black, and the entire house smelled like burnt popcorn. I humbly carried the disaster to the backyard and set it on the brick patio, where it cooled as it sat through a thunderstorm. One of us will start to tell a story, then trail off and never finish, usually because we forget where we are going. Our brain is filled with the cycle of eat-sleep-change-play, with no room for anything else, including proper use of the English language.

Jeff’s sister got married over the weekend, and the shirt he ordered to wear to the outdoor ceremony arrived incorrectly, with no time to exchange it. It was still white, still had a collar, but it was the sportier rather than more formal option. Then as we were getting ready on Saturday he came to tell me — as we monitored the 90 degree temperature with full sun and nearly 100% humidity — that the sportier, cooler option was a “blessing in surprise.”

“A blessing in surprise?”

“Yeah, a blessing in surprise.”

“It’s blessing in disguise.”

...And that was apparently the funniest thing that ever happened! Maybe we were giddy on the freedom of Olivia’s first babysitters, or still coming down from when Jeff said “jarlic” instead of “jar of garlic” the day before, but we were both full-on belly laughing, keeled over in the hallway, at the misuse of phrase. It’s really not that funny! We know!

Pasta alla Norma is a Sicilian dish of fried eggplant in tomato sauce over a short pasta. This is an extremely simplified version relying on baked eggplant and a jarred sauce. The eggplant is sliced and coated in olive oil, which this sponge-like vegetable absorbs immediately. In the oven it shrinks and toasts in that olive oil, resulting in deeply golden rounds that are crispy, salty, and mushroom-like in texture. It’s the perfect savory addition to a garlicky and slightly sweet tomato sauce.

I feel like eggplant doesn’t get its due, but between this dish, the ratatouille, baba ganoush, and the eggplant and aioli sandwiches my friend Christl used to make me, it’s clearly one of my favorite vegetables. If Olivia is on her best behavior today, we are going to head to the farmers market to pick up some more before the season is over!

PASTA ALLA NORMA, inspired by Cookie & Kate

You’ll need:
2 medium eggplant
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
16 oz of short pasta, such as rotini
1 jar of store-bought tomato sauce (I recommend a roasted garlic variety)
Fresh basil

Heat oven to 425. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.

Use a vegetable peeler to shave off alternating strips on each eggplant. Then slice each into half-inch thick rounds. Divide the rounds among the sheet trays. Brush each with olive oil on both sides, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until deeply golden and toasty, about 35 minutes, flipping the rounds and rotating the trays halfway. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan.

Cut each eggplant round into quarters and add to the tomato sauce. (I find it is much easier to cook and cut the eggplant this way, rather than to chop them completely before roasting. Smaller pieces tend to lose their shape and are difficult to flip, resulting in a texture that is more mushy than crisp.)

Combine the cooked pasta and tomato-eggplant sauce in a large bowl or serving dish. Sprinkle with fresh, torn basil.