Pasta alla Norma

I’m still here.

For much of this summer I’ve been running on adrenaline, speeding along from event to event,reading to discussion to book club, and always to day job, day job, day job.

London threw me for aloop, though. The jet lag on top of the running on top of the events on top ofthe day job… and then a wedding in Maine and a baby-naming in Cambridge and atrip to Philadelphia… all within the course of one week? Stick a fork in me.

But of course I’m notdone.

Today I'm looking forward to an event at Stir, a demonstration kitchen and cookbook shop run byBarbara Lynch here in Boston. It’s an open house, from 12 – 2:30pm today, and ifyou’re in the area, you should definitely come, because I’d love to meet you.And then on the 10^th I’ll be in New Orleans, one of my favoritecities on earth, to talk even more smell at the Garden District Book Shop. Andon the 13^th, I’ll be at the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers,MA. For more, see the events page on my website.

Oh, and here? I willwrite more, better, soon. I promise.

I’ve been trying tofigure out what to write. I could write about the wedding I attended in Maine.It was on an island near Brunswick. We watched the bride and groom exchangevows as the sun set over the lagoon. Or I could write about the joy of meetingthe new baby daughter of a good friend in Cambridge. Or I could rewind evenfurther and write about London, and that lovely yet short trip during which I playedthe tourist, ate some excellent Lebanese food, and spoke a lot on the BBC. Nowthat I think of it, one moment there really stands out.

Late one afternoon, Iwalked alone from my publisher’s office in Notting Hill back to my hotel inSouth Kensington. Despite the warnings I’d received before my trip, the weatherin London was nice. The sun shone bright on streets of red brick buildings. AsI walked, I listened to the sounds of people speaking with accents onlyfamiliar to me from movies, to buses rumbling their double deckerness over the wrong-wayroads. I had a few hours to kill and let my mind wander. Amid the errant musingson clotted cream and Marmite, I thought about how far I was from home, howstrange it felt to be there, how wonderful and exhausting and insane. I was ina different country, an unfamiliar city. But there I was, meeting people whowere moved by the same books and the same words, people who could all betransported by the same smells. I know this sounds trite. Or silly. Or sad. Butin one moment it struck me how small the world really is. And how incredibly,unforgivingly large.

Anyway, I’ll leaveyou with a recipe. Because those have been severely lacking here in the lastfew months. (This sad fact is something I plan to change.)

Friday night Iarrived home from work and grocery shopping pretty late. I didn’t start cookinguntil 8:30pm. But I was determined to use a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated,because I read Cook’s Illustrated recipes all day, and they often stick to themeaty part of my brain. I had been doing research on the effects of salt onvegetables and had become fixated on this recipe for Pasta alla Norma, a chunkyeggplant tomato-based sauce that takes to rigatoni like a hug.

I sipped some whiskey(because I love a good whiskey) as I took out my knife. After the applicationof salt and a stint in the microwave, I watched the diced eggplant release itsliquid. Browned in the pan, and then removed, the spongy vegetable turned outsoft and flavorful...not at all waterlogged. The sauce came together withminced garlic and anchovies (which are salty and meaty and not fishy at all),and crushed tomatoes from a can. First came basil, then pasta, then cheese. Mattand I ate while watching an old episode of The Sopranos. It was everything Ihoped it would be.

Pasta alla Norma

Adapted from Cook’sIllustrated (also known as: my place of work)

3 small eggplants (or 1large), cut into ½ inch pieces

Salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 anchovy fillets, minced

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 28-oz can crushedtomatoes

1 pound pasta (ziti,rigatoni, penne, etc)

6 generous tablespoonsbasil, chopped

1 cup shredded cheese (theyrecommend ricotta salata; I used a combination of pecorino romano an asiagocheese)

First, place the dicedeggplant in a medium-sized bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of salt. Then, line amicrowave-safe plate with coffee filters. (The filters will absorb more of theeggplant’s excessive moisture than, say, a paper towel). Place the eggplant onthe plate in a single layer, and microwave on high power for about 10 minutes. The eggplantshould be dry and kind of shrively. Let cool a bit.

Now put the eggplant back inthe bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat another tablespoon of oilin a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cookuntil nicely browned and tender. This should take about 10 minutes. Be sure notto stir too frequently, or the eggplant will break apart. Once cooked, removethe eggplant from the skillet and set aside.

Add another tablespoon ofoil to the skillet along with the garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes. Keepthe pan off the heat for 30 seconds or so, using the residual heat to cookthese delicate ingredients very lightly, not allowing them to burn. Then setthe skillet back over the burner and add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and letcook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a big potof water to boil. Add salt (2 tablespoons or so), and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve a half-cupof pasta water before draining the pasta and then placing the noodles a big serving bowl.

Add the eggplant back to theskillet filled with sauce, and stir gently. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Now, addthe basil. Season to taste with salt. Add the sauce to the pasta, and stir tocoat. Drizzle a glug of olive oil over the top if you like. Serve, sprinkled with a healthy handful of cheese.