The adventures of Super-Veg

Everyone knows that an ordinary tin of tomatoes and an ordinary any vegetable will make, when combined, an acceptable pasta sauce. But there is something you can add to an ordinary tin of tomatoes to turn it into the most delectable pasta sauce ever. Is it a herb? Is it a grain? No, it’s a super-vegetable.

From mountain rescue to bleeding radiators...

From snatching ordinary any vegetables from the jaws of evil predators...

To tackling bad-ass books...

Super-Veg has some very special powers. But when he’s done saving the world, he flies away home to a Simple Sicilian peasant existence (also known as Norma life).

Seriously, though, aubergines (or are they “eggplants” where you live?) do have some wondrous properties. Almost meaty at times, they are capable of absorbing huge quantities of olive oil when fried – or of shrinking to about half their original size when roasted. Curiously too, they taste nicest when burned and served with tomatoes… hence these two recipes for pasta alla Norma (aka "simple Sicilian spaghetti").

Recipe 1: pasta alla Norma

Takes about half an hour and makes three or four servings.

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 aubergines
•  2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tin of tomatoes (400g)
• 1 slab of feta cheese (200g)
•  Olive oil for frying
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Basil or oregano for extra flavour (optional)
• Pasta to serve

Method

Slice up your aubergines. Jamie Oliver reckons they should be this shape and I tend to agree (but I’ve no idea why it's better than rounds).

Put a generous sploosh of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, heat until very hot and fry your aubergine slices on both sides until your smoke alarm goes off. Honestly, they really do taste nicer burned.

You’ll probably need two or three rounds of frying to get through all the slices, adding oil each time (although they do start to release oil once cooked). Be careful when you add more oil and slices, as – if the pan is hot enough – the little blighters will start spitting at you. Also, the second batch will probably cook a lot faster than the first.

Once all your slices are fried, let the pan cool down, while you chop up the garlic. Add more oil if there’s none left in the pan and fry the chopped garlic gently for a couple of minutes (You may be able to do this off the heat if you get them in the pan before it cools down completely. On the other hand, if you’re impatient and add it too soon, your garlic will burn – and unlike aubergines, garlic definitely doesn’t improve when browned.)

Now add the tin of tomatoes and simmer gently for about five minutes, still on a lowish-to-medium heat. If you’re using dried herbs add a sprinkling of them now and stir in. Meanwhile, cut up your feta cheese into cubes or crumble it roughly.

 Add the singed aubergine slices to the pan and stir them around. Cook for another couple of minutes until they’re hot again, then add the feta and fresh herbs (if using). Stir to break up the cheese, heat through and season to taste with pepper and possibly a little salt (depending on how salty your feta is).

Add to pasta for a truly delectable experience.

Recipe 2: Even simpler Sicilian

Takes about an hour and makes three or four servings.

Ingredients

As above.

Method

This version is, truth be known, slightly less yummy and takes up to twice the time, compared with the first recipe. But it’s easier on your smoke-alarm batteries, kinder on your neighbours’ eardrums and doesn’t spit at you. Also, you can go tackle a bad-ass book, while it’s cooking (but do keep an eye on it, just in case).

Heat your oven to about 200 degrees centigrade. Chop your aubergine into cubes, place in an oven-proof tray, sploosh with olive oil, stir to coat and put in the oven. After about 15 minutes take it out, give it a stir and maybe add another sploosh of oil if the cubes are looking dry.

After another 15 minutes, add the garlic – finely sliced (don’t ask me why, it’s nicer sliced than chopped if roasted) – and stir, before putting back in the oven. The cubes of aubergine should be browning nicely by now.

After another 10 minutes, the aubergine should be well browned and the garlic cooked. Now add the tomatoes and dried herbs if using. Heat through in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then stir in the feta (cubed or crumbled) and fresh herbs (if using) and pop back in the oven. After another 5 minutes, it should all be hot, the feta should have melted in and you can eat it with pasta, just like before.

Tip of the week

Aubergine (and mushrooms for that matter) can be diced up nice and small and fried with onions to create a kind of student version of mincemeat – which you can use as the base for chilli sin carne or faux Bolognese sauce. Ideal for those evenings when you just can't look another lentil in the eye.