Description
Pasta alla Norma is a classic Sicilian dish featuring tender fried eggplants combined with a rich tomato sauce, fresh basil, and topped with salty ricotta salata cheese. This flavorful pasta recipe delivers a perfect balance of textures and tastes, making it a beloved Italian comfort food that comes together in just 45 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Eggplant Preparation
- 23oz / 660g Italian eggplants (approx. 2 medium eggplants)
- Salt (for sweating the eggplants and seasoning)
- Extra virgin olive oil, for frying (a few tablespoons)
Tomato Sauce
- 30oz / 850g canned peeled tomatoes
- 2 large garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (divided; 1 tbsp for sauce, rest for frying eggplants)
- Handful of fresh basil leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Pasta and Garnish
- 12oz / 340g short pasta (casarecce preferred)
- ⅓ cup ricotta salata cheese, grated
Instructions
- Prepare Eggplants: Slice the eggplants into bite-sized cubes; optionally, slice a few thin strips for garnish. Place the cubes in a colander over a plate, sprinkle generously with salt, toss, and let them stand for 15-20 minutes to draw out excess moisture and bitterness.
- Dry Eggplants: After 15-20 minutes, pat the eggplant cubes dry using paper towels to remove the released water and excess salt, ensuring they fry up nicely.
- Start Tomato Sauce: While waiting for the eggplants, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pot or saucepan. Add garlic cloves and cook until lightly golden and fragrant, careful not to burn.
- Add Tomatoes and Basil: Add the canned peeled tomatoes to the pot and break them up with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and black pepper, tear in fresh basil leaves, then cover with a lid and let simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes, allowing flavors to blend.
- Fry Eggplants: Heat several tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Fry eggplant cubes in batches, cooking a few minutes on each side until golden brown and tender.
- Drain Fried Eggplants: Remove fried eggplants with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat until all eggplants are fried.
- Blend Sauce: Take the tomato sauce off the heat and use an immersion blender (or transfer to a standard blender) to blend the sauce until smooth and velvety.
- Combine Eggplants and Sauce: Stir half of the fried eggplant cubes into the tomato sauce, cover, and simmer on low-medium heat for 10 minutes to marry the flavors.
- Cook Pasta: In a large pot of boiling, heavily salted water, cook the pasta until about 80% done (approximately 2 minutes less than package instructions). Reserve some pasta cooking water before draining.
- Finish Pasta in Sauce: Add the drained pasta directly into the sauce along with a splash of reserved pasta water and the remaining fried eggplants. Cook together for 2 minutes, allowing the pasta to finish cooking and absorb the sauce.
- Serve and Garnish: Serve the Pasta alla Norma in bowls, garnish with the reserved fried eggplant strips, and sprinkle generously with grated ricotta salata cheese. Enjoy warm!
Notes
- Salting the eggplant before cooking helps remove bitterness and excess moisture, which improves texture when frying.
- Using ricotta salata cheese adds a slightly salty, nutty flavor that complements the dish perfectly; if unavailable, a similar hard, salty cheese may be substituted.
- Be careful not to overcook pasta initially since it finishes cooking in the sauce, ensuring perfect al dente texture.
- Frying eggplants in batches prevents overcrowding and helps them brown evenly.
- This recipe can be made vegetarian and kosher. For vegan adaptation, omit ricotta salata or use a vegan cheese alternative.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Sicilian, Italian
Keywords: Pasta alla Norma, Sicilian pasta, eggplant pasta, Italian pasta recipe, vegetarian pasta, ricotta salata, tomato sauce pasta
