Authentic pasta alla norma recipe: easy & flavorful!

Where Did the Name Pasta Alla Norma Come From?

Pasta Alla Norma is an Italian dish that hails from the Italian region of Sicily, where tomatoes and eggplants grow bountifully, and the pasta is plentiful. You can find another fine example of Sicilian cuisine, which I apparently love a lot, on my site: my recipe for Caponata. It’s kind of like an eggplant relish. So scrumptious!

The name Norma, itself? It wasn’t Norma Jean. Neither was it Norma Rae. It wasn’t even Norman Bates’ sister. Back in the early 1800’s, Vincenzo Bellini wrote a beautiful opera about some Druids in the region of Gaul who were trying to overthrow the Romans, way back in 50 B.C. They had a high priestess named Norma, who, (oops) accidentally broke her vow of chastity with the Roman proconsul. At least twice. (Since she had two kids by him.) You can maybe see where this tragedy is headed. Anyway, the opera “Norma” was considered to be the height of operatic perfection in the bel canto style.

All Writers Want Their Words to Live On After Them

One night, a bunch of operatically-savvy Italians were sitting around on the island of Sicily, discussing opera. Somebody brought out a big platter of pasta, lusciously topped with eggplant, and one guy, Nino Martoglio, who was a writer and a play producer, exclaimed upon tasting it, “This is a Real Norma!” And apparently all HIS friends “got it”. Because the name stuck.

If you’d like to listen to a famous aria from the opera, while you’re making your Pasta Alla Norma, I highly recommend this one from my favorite operatic soprano, the lovely Renée Fleming, and her version of Casta Diva: a song to the moon goddess. Apparently, this is what Druid high priestesses used to sing about in Gaul, when they were trying to prevent angry Druids from going to war against their Roman Baby Daddy.

And anyway, listening to it will put you in the mood to eat Italian food. Italian music always does that to me.

Vincenzo’s Top Tips To Make Pasta alla Norma

Let the air come in

Leave the lid slightly off centre on top of the pot letting some air in so the pot doesn’t overflow.

Pasta alla Norma

Vincenzo’s Plate

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Equipment

2 Medium sized deep pans
Medium size mixing bowl
Vegetable masher
wooden spoon
knife
Large pot (for boiling pasta)
Hand sieve
Grater
knife

Ingredients
1x2x3x

300 grams Casarecce Dry Pasta 8oz
Small bunch fresh basil
2 cloves Garlic
Ricotta Salata Up to 250g
1 bottle Passata or can peeled tomatoes
1-2 Eggplants
Extra virgin olive oil EVOO
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt + Pepper
5 L Water

Instructions

Pasta alla norma needs quality tender eggplants, so start by trimming the top and bottom of one (or two) and then cut into strips.
In the meantime, heat up vegetable oil in a deep pan or small pot.
Once the oil reaches a temperature of 180°C/356°F (or you can see it is ready!) place a handful of your strips in at a time and fry them up!
Pasta alla norma is all about the crispy eggplant, so once the eggplant strips are golden brown, remove from the oil and put them onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess liquid and leave to rest.
Add 5L water to a large pot and leave it to boil while you prepare your sauce.
This Sicilian Eggplant pasta is made with a fresh tomato sauce, so pour the peeled tomatoes into a medium mixing bowl and crush using a vegetable mashing utensil.
Once you have created a puree of tomatoes, add salt and pepper and mix with a wooden spoon.
Next place a medium size pan on your stove at low-medium heat and warm up a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Once the oil is slightly warm crush the garlic cloves, adding them to the pan and stir.
Pour the tomato mix into the pan and drop the temperature to a lower heat so it cooks slowly.
Now it’s time to cook your pasta, so add a tablespoon of rock salt to the water, stir to help dissolve and leave to cook as per packet instructions.
Add ¾ of the eggplant to your sauce and leave to simmer (at a low temperature) before breaking up a few fresh basil leaves and adding these too.
Once the pasta is ready, get a cup full of pasta water and put it to the side.
Using a hand sieve, strain the pasta and add it to the sauce before adding the cup of water and stirring through, leaving it to cook for one more minute.
Grate some ricotta salata in the pan and mix through until melted.
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!

Video

Keyword Homemade, traditional

Tried this recipe? how it was!

How to serve Pasta alla Norma

Add a few generous scoops of pasta to a serving bowl, a small handful of crispy eggplant (remember the extra you had put to the side?) along with freshly grated ricotta salata and a couple of basil leaves…

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Pasta alla Norma Recipe: Instructions

The Tomato Sauce

Step 1) — Take the tomatoes, rinse and dry them then cut into pieces.

In a large saucepan add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Then, over medium heat, sauté two garlic cloves, peeled and left whole so that if you wish you can remove them. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes.

Step 2) — Now add the tomatoes, stir and cover with a lid. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and have released their sauce.

Step 3) — Once ready, transfer the tomatoes in a food mill placed on a bowl and pass them in order to obtain a juicy and smooth sauce.

Step 4) — Transfer the tomatoes sauce back to the saucepan and add a pinch of salt to taste.

Then simmer gently for another 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.

Fry the Eggplants

Step 5) — Wash the eggplants, dry them well, then cut into thin slices, about 5 millimeter thick (about 0,20 inch). The thinner the better.

Some prefer to cut the eggplants into cubes, but for greater crunchiness and the final look of the dish, we prefer to make very thin slices.

Step 6) — Fry the eggplants in extra virgin olive oil heated to a temperature of 170° C (340 F). Do not exceed the recommended temperature: check with a kitchen thermometer.

If you have to fry a large amount of eggplant for many people, a deep fryer can be very convenient and useful, otherwise for a dose for 4 people the classic frying pan is fine. You will consume less oil!

That said, as they are golden brown, drain them with a skimmer.

Step 7) — Transfer them to a tray covered with a kitchen paper towel to absorb the excess oil then add fine salt to taste.

Cook the Pasta, Season and Serve

Step — Add the basil leaves to the tomato sauce. Cook the pasta al dente, drain and pour directly into the saucepan. Stir well to flavor.

Step 9) — Grate plenty of ricotta salata cheese, not too finely (use a grater with large holes). Finally, place the pasta seasoned with the tomato sauce in a dish, add some fried eggplant on top, sprinkle a little grated ricotta salata, add a couple of basil leaves to decorate and serve.

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Pasta alla Norma: Some Variations

Pasta alla norma is a typical Sicilian dish made with ingredients such as short pasta (usually rigatoni), peeled tomatoes, fried eggplant, ricotta salata, and fresh basil.

However, there are some regional or adapted variations of the recipe that may be popular in different parts of Italy. Here are some of these variations:

Cherry Tomatoes: Add fresh, halved cherry tomatoes to the tomato sauce for a sweeter flavor.
Zucchini: Replace the eggplant with diced zucchini sautéed in a pan with a little oil.
Mozzarella: Add fresh diced mozzarella cheese at the end of cooking for a creamier, more delicate flavor.
Ricotta: It is often difficult to find salted ricotta. We recommend replacing it with fresh ricotta. The dish will certainly be creamier.

Why Roast The Tomatoes?

So, it stands to reason that slightly browning tomatoes through the roasting process, and through that also evaporating some of the water in them, gives them a sweeter, more intense flavor. Yum! And that is the answer as to why I took my big box of grape tomatoes and roasted them, with olive oil, garlic, and some Italian seasonings like oregano, parsley, and whatever else was in that jar of Italian Seasoning.