For those of you who do not know, Easy Food is a magazine for home cooks published in Ireland. I subscribed to it when I arrived in Belfast, and I have been following it then since.
In 2011 they started an annual competition to find the best home cooks in Ireland, the Home cook hero awards. This year I entered the competition, and, to my surprise, I was one of the finalists. The competition ran on the magazine for weeks. Aspirants sent their recipes to the magazine and 3 were selected for each of the 10 categories. My version of Pasta alla Norma was selected in the pasta category, sponsored by Barilla.
One windy and rainy November morning I headed to Cooks Academy, in central Dublin quite early on in the morning. I had to cook the dish for the 3 judges, with the other 2 finalists in my category. I arrived so early that I was sent to have a cup of coffee before an early start of the day. Thank to that, I had an extra dosis of cafeine in the form of yet another double espresso to help me with the day ahead.
The guys from the academy and from the magazine were absolutely brilliant at all times. I also met the Barilla representative before the competition. I was on my own, but some of the other contestants came with some relatives or friends, so a small group of excited amateur cooks was getting ready before the time for cooking started.
The funny bit is that the competition in the morning was completed with a black tie dinner in one of the most luxurious hotels in Dublin, The Selbourne. Both the morning cooking and the evening gala were the base for a TV show aired the following week on TV3Ireland. You can see the full show in here. You can see me around minute 27, and right after that you will also see who won in my category -which, as you'd have already imagined, was not me, ooops!
Me and the two other girls in the pasta category were the first to start. And we were also the first to talk to the camera. Soon after that, all our stuff was ready waiting for us to start cooking, and our cooking slot started. I should say that the 45 minutes ran incredibly fast. Other groups were starting soon after ours, and the cook academy was getting full of teams of excited home cooks trying to do their best for the day.
We were the first in finishing and bringing our dishes to the judges. Soon right after that, the morning contest was over for us, we were supposed to know who had won in the evening gala, although by then (if it had not been clear enough before) it was already a fact who had been the lucky winner, and most of it was finished for us. They took some photos and we were basically done for the morning.
Me and my Pasta alla Norma at the Cooks Academy, Dublin
Barilla also got me as a gift a chef jacket. My first cook jacket ever! Thanks a lot, Helen, for everything during the day. It was really nice meeting you! Thanks to every one at Cooks Academy, you were really brilliant! And thanks to all the people at Easy Food Magazine. You made a great job with the contest, the cooking, the gala. Very well done all.. It has been one of the nicest experiences connected to food that I have had so far and my first appearance in an Irish TV channel, so far....
So, now I am also officially one of the finalist at the 2014 Easy Food Home Cook Hero Awards.
The recipe that I prepared for the contest is a traditional italian recipe. It has auberginies on it, which is one of my favorite ingredients. I publised this recipe in my blog, back in Spain, years ago. Below you can find the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do at home.
Pasta alla Norma
Ingredients for 2 people
1 medium eggplant
4 ripe tomatoes (or a can of chopped tomatoes 500 grams)
1/2onion
1 or 2 cloves garlic (to taste)
1 chili (or chile, chili powder, or similar-optional)
Basil leaves
A few tablespoons of ricotta (optional)
Water
Salt
Olive oil (optional -if you follow a low fat diet, you'll fin in the directions how to avoid it)
80 to 100 grams of pasta: Rigatoni, Tortiglioni or similar (adjust quantity to taste)
Preparation
NOTE: I have made this sauce with almost no oil. (Yes, you can) as I explain below. If you prefer to make the sauce as usual, it will be perfect, too.
Cut the eggplant into medium cubes. Put in a bowl, add salt and let it loose the excess water.
Put the pasta to cook in salted water and cook according to manufacturer's instructions, trying to let it al dente.
Put half a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan, or a couple of oil-sprays and spread with a paper towel just to prevent sticking. Place over medium heat with onion chopped very fine. Before it starts to burn, a minute or so, add two tablespoons water and cook the onion over medium heat. Add garlic, chilli or pepper if using, and cook about 5 minutes, until onion starts to be done.
1 or 2 cloves garlic (to taste)
1 chili (or chile, chili powder, or similar-optional)
Basil leaves
A few tablespoons of ricotta (optional)
Water
Salt
Olive oil (optional -if you follow a low fat diet, you'll fin in the directions how to avoid it)
80 to 100 grams of pasta: Rigatoni, Tortiglioni or similar (adjust quantity to taste)
Preparation
NOTE: I have made this sauce with almost no oil. (Yes, you can) as I explain below. If you prefer to make the sauce as usual, it will be perfect, too.
Cut the eggplant into medium cubes. Put in a bowl, add salt and let it loose the excess water.
Put the pasta to cook in salted water and cook according to manufacturer's instructions, trying to let it al dente.
Put half a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan, or a couple of oil-sprays and spread with a paper towel just to prevent sticking. Place over medium heat with onion chopped very fine. Before it starts to burn, a minute or so, add two tablespoons water and cook the onion over medium heat. Add garlic, chilli or pepper if using, and cook about 5 minutes, until onion starts to be done.
Add the eggplant, cover the pan
and let it cook slowly about 5 minutes, until eggplant begins to release
juices. Uncover, stir and keep 3 or 4 minutes. If the eggplant begins
to cling to the bottom, add a few tablespoons of water, stir and
continue cooking.
Add the tomatoes. If they are fresh, clean pieces skinless and cut into cubes, if they are packaged, add them directly with their juice. Cook another 5 minutes. Add chopped basil leaves. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Drain the pasta (without passing it through cold water), mix with sauce and serve decorated with basil leaves and a dollop of ricotta cheese. This cheese is not too fatty, but if you prefer not to use it, your pasta will still be delicious.
Add the tomatoes. If they are fresh, clean pieces skinless and cut into cubes, if they are packaged, add them directly with their juice. Cook another 5 minutes. Add chopped basil leaves. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Drain the pasta (without passing it through cold water), mix with sauce and serve decorated with basil leaves and a dollop of ricotta cheese. This cheese is not too fatty, but if you prefer not to use it, your pasta will still be delicious.
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