I love single servings and also Spaghetti alla Norma, a typical Sicilian dish with fried eggplant and salted ricotta. The difference from the original version is the double cooking method, which is not included, as the spaghetti is served once ready. Air fryer is used for cooking both the eggplants and the timbales. A definitely lighter dish, but no less tasty than the classic version. You can prepare it in advance and continue cooking in the fryer or oven just before serving.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Air Frying, Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 Black eggplants
- 500 ml tomato puree
- 1/2 white onion
- extra virgin olive oil
- seed oil
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste salted ricotta
- 7 oz square spaghetti
- A few leaves basil
How to prepare Spaghetti Timbales alla Norma
Tools
- 8 Baking cups
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Fork
- 1 Pot
Steps
➡️Slice the eggplants, brush with seed oil and cook with Air Fry program at 356°F for 15 minutes
➡️ Chop 1/2 onion and brown it with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes until golden. Add 500 ml of tomato puree and cook the sauce for about 15 minutes. I used cherry tomato puree, but any type of tomato puree can be used. Boil 7 oz of spaghetti (I used square spaghetti) and drain slightly al dente. They should not be fully cooked, so I finished cooking 2 minutes before the time indicated on the package. Once ready, I mixed the spaghetti with part of the sauce.
➡️ Line the baking cups with eggplant slices, using 1 and 1/2 or 2 slices depending on the size, covering the bottom and sides well.
➡️ Cut the leftover eggplants into strips, add them to the spaghetti with sauce, pepper, a generous grated salted ricotta, a few torn basil leaves, and mix everything together.
➡️ With the help of a ladle, place the spaghetti inside the baking cups.
➡️ Add a little sauce on top, grate more ricotta, and spray some oil to prevent the cheese from flying with the air.
Cooking with Air Fry program at 356°F for 10 minutes
➡️ Let cool slightly before removing the timbales from the baking cups, decorate with a few basil leaves and serve 😋😋
