• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Pasta Project logo

  • Recipe Index
  • Italy’s Regions
    • Abruzzo
    • Aosta Valley (Valle d’Aosta or Val d’Aosta)
    • Basilicata
    • Campania
    • Calabria
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio (Latium)
    • Liguria
    • Lombardy
    • Le Marche Region; the next Tuscany
    • Molise, Italy’s second smallest region.
    • Piedmont-Piemonte
    • Puglia
    • Sardinia
    • Sicily, the food and the pasta!
    • Trentino-Alto Adige (South Tyrol)
    • Tuscany (Toscana) the Food and Pasta.
    • Umbria, the green heart of Italy
    • Veneto
  • Pasta and recipes by region
    • Abruzzo
    • Aosta Valley (Valle d’Aosta)
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio (Latium)
    • Liguria
    • Lombardy
    • Le Marche (Marche region)
    • Molise
    • Piedmont-Piemonte
    • Puglia
    • Sardinia
    • Sicily
    • Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol
    • Tuscany-Toscana
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • Pasta Types
    • Anelli or Anelletti pasta rings.
    • Bigoli Pasta from Veneto
    • Biricci pasta
    • Bucatini; the spaghetti with a hole!
    • Busiate
    • Caccavelle Giant Pasta Shells from Gragnano, Naples.
    • Calamarata pasta from Southern Italy.
    • Candele: Pasta candles
    • Cannelloni or Manicotti
    • Casarecce pasta from Sicily.
    • Cavatelli Pasta from Southern Italy
    • Conchiglie, Conchigliette, Conchiglioni.
    • Corzetti or Croxetti Pasta from Liguria.
    • Dischi Volanti Pasta (Messicani)
    • Ditaloni, Ditali, Ditalini
    • Elicoidali
    • Farfalle pasta: Butterflies and Bow Ties
    • Fettuccine pasta (lisce e rigati)
    • Fileja pasta from Calabria
    • Fresine pasta from Gragnano
    • Fusilli Pasta; long, short, homemade and hollow.
      • Fusilli Bucati Corti (short hollow fusilli)
    • Garganelli pasta from Romagna (Emilia-Romagna)
    • Gargati Pasta from Veneto.
    • Gigli or Campanelle pasta
    • Gomiti Elbow Pasta, a pasta with many names
    • Italian Gnocchi; Potato gnocchi and family
      • Canederli: Italian Bread Dumplings from South Tirol
    • Gramigna: Pasta from Emilia-Romagna.
    • Grattoni-grattini (pasta for soup)
    • Intrecci pasta.
    • Lagane pasta from Southern Italy
    • Lasagne or lasagna.
    • Linguine pasta from Liguria
    • Lombrichelli, hand rolled pasta from Lazio
    • Lorighittas Pasta from Sardinia
    • Lumaconi (snail shell pasta)
    • Maccheroncini di Campofilone from Le Marche
    • Mafaldine (mafalda or reginette)
    • Malloreddus (Sardinian Gnocchi)
    • Maltagliati Pasta
    • Mezze Maniche Pasta (half-sleeves)
    • Occhi di Lupo (wolf’s eyes) Pasta
    • Orecchiette pasta
    • Paccheri
    • Pappardelle pasta from Tuscany
    • Passatelli Pasta from Emilia-Romagna
    • Penne
    • Pici pasta from Tuscany
    • Pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta)
    • Radiatori (radiator shaped pasta)
    • Rigatoni, pasta with ridges.
    • Sagne Pasta from Abruzzo, Molise and Lazio.
    • Sardinian Fregola (fregula sarda)
    • Scialatielli pasta from Amalfi
    • Sedani rigati
    • Spaccatelle pasta from Sicily
    • Spaghetti
    • Spaghetti/Maccheroni alla Chitarra from Abruzzo
    • Strozzapreti
    • Tagliatelle
    • Tagliolini
    • Torchio Pasta (Maccheroni al Torchio)
    • Tortelli and Ravioli
      • Cjarsons ravioli from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
    • Trescatori Pasta from Abruzzo
    • Trofie pasta from Liguria
    • Tuscan Gnudi (ricotta and spinach gnocchi)
    • Vermicelli
    • Vesuvio pasta from Campania; shaped like a volcano!
    • Ziti and Zitoni Pasta
  • Pasta Recipes
    • Baked Pasta Recipes
    • Pasta with Poultry and Game
    • Pasta Salads and in Soups
    • Vegetarian Pasta dishes
    • Seafood & Lake Fish Pasta
    • Meat Pasta Dishes
    • Pesto and other pasta sauces
      • Alla Mediterranea (Mediterranean sauce and celebrations!)
      • Beetroot and Radicchio Pesto
      • Busiate with radicchio pesto
      • Busiate pasta with Trapanese pesto from Trapani
      • Casarecce with pumpkin and orange pesto
      • Roasted Red Pepper Pesto with Casarecce Pasta
      • Fusilli pasta with black olive pesto and tuna.
      • Long Fusilli Pasta with Pesto Calabrese
      • Matcha Pesto for Pasta
      • Pappardelle pasta with walnut sauce and black truffle shavings
      • Pesto Pasta Liguria with Potatoes and Green Beans
      • Pasta with pistachio pesto
      • Trofie Pasta with Rocket Pesto Recipe
      • Tuscan pici pasta all’etrusca with asparagus
    • Special & Favourite Pasta Recipes
      • Baked Pasta Roses
      • Cinnamon Butter Gnocchi: Recipe from Veneto
      • Gnocchi alla Romana
      • Lasagna bianca with mushrooms and burrata
      • Spaghetti al Limone with Ricotta, Basil and Lemon
      • Spaghetti/Maccheroni alla Chitarra with 4 meat ragu Abruzzese
      • Stuffed Lumaconi (Lumache) snail shell pasta
      • Pasta with Nduja
      • Pasta al forno (pasta bake the Italian way)
      • Ricotta Gnudi with Black Truffle.
      • Tagliolini with Taleggio and Black Truffle
  • Restaurants and Pasta Companies
    • Agriturismo Il Romitorio, Tuscania, Lazio
    • Restaurant Dei Cantoni, Longiano, Emilia-Romagna
    • Pasta Mancini: Pasta From Field to Fork.
    • The Best Italian Pasta Ever: Pastificio dei Campi
    • Organic Pasta Makers Girolomoni.
  • SHOP OUR ARTICLES
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Italy’s Regions
  • Pasta and recipes by region
  • Pasta Types
  • Pasta Recipes
  • Restaurants and Pasta Companies
×

Home » Baked Pasta Recipes » Lasagna alla Norma

June 24, 2017

Lasagna alla Norma

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Baked Lasagna alla Norma.

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

Lasagna alla Norma!

Pasta alla Norma is an original recipe from the city of Catania, in Sicily where it is called “pasta câ Norma”.  It is a delicious combination of typically Mediterranean flavors; tomatoes, eggplant and basil. This dish is interesting because the pasta is traditionall dressed with the main ingredients one at a time. First the tomato sauce (normally homemade), then fried eggplant and finally lots of grated ricotta salata and some fresh basil.

(go straight to recipe)

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

A little alla Norma history!

According to food historians this pasta recipe was named by the Sicilian playwright Nino Martoglio, who is said to have exclaimed “It’s a Norma!” when served with a plate of pasta prepared with tomato sauce, fried eggplant and ricotta salata. He is thought to have used this expression to indicate  how good the dish was by comparing it to the famous opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. Perhaps because Norma was being performed at the opening of the new Massimo Bellini theatre that same evening in Catania. Bellini was, and is, one of Catania’s most famous sons and pasta alla Norma is certainly the most well-known and popular pasta recipe from this part of Sicily.

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

The Pasta!

Although alla Norma is usually served with short pasta tubes such as rigatoni or penne rigate, some people also use spaghetti. What I like to do is to make this recipe for baked lasagna alla Norma. This recipe is different to other types of baked lasagna because instead of béchamel, it includes a ricotta cream. Otherwise the ingredients are the same as the traditional pasta alla Norma.

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

The Cheese!

Ricotta salata is a typical Sicilian cheese which is an essential ingredient in pasta alla Norma.  The word ‘ricotta’ means re-cooked and ‘salata’ means salted. Ricotta Salata is cheese made from the whey part of sheep’s milk, which is pressed, salted and aged for at least 90 days. It is milky white in colour with a firm texture and salty taste. However it isn’t easily available outside of Italy.

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

If you can’t find ricotta salata you can use feta, preferably aged feta. You will need to let the feta dry out a bit before grating it. Just pat it dry with kitchen paper and leave it to dry out at room temperature for a couple of hours.

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

Whether you use ricotta salata or feta, this unusual yet delicious lasagna recipe is sure to impress your guests. It doesn’t contain meat, so it’s great for vegetarians too. You can prepare it a day in advance and then leave it in the fridge and bake the following day.  Leftovers can also be kept in the fridge for a day or two. I think this dish is actually even tastier reheated!

Buon appetito!

(see the recipe on next page. Just scroll down and click 2)

Baked Lasagna alla Norma

 

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Filed Under: Baked Pasta Recipes, Lasagne (Lasagna), Sicily, Vegetarian Pasta dishes Tagged With: baked pasta, lasagna, lasagne, Sicily, vegetarian

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. SHERMAN CHEUNG says

    August 04, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    Italian Moussaka

    Reply
  2. FP Williams says

    September 16, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    I just cooked this recipe for dinner. It was nice but insanely rich. If I were to cook it again I would try decreasing the quantity of ricotta and increasing the amount of aubergine (as its flavour gets a bit lost in the mix).
    From a practical point of view, I would point out that if you intend to use dried lasagna sheets make sure you are ready to build the lasagna immediately after blanching as they tend stick to each as they cool.
    Finally, my wife did not enjoy the goat’s cheese taste that came from the feta (personally I liked it as I am a goat’s cheese fan), if you think that might bother you I would recommend trying to find 100% ewe’s milk feta or real ricotta salata.

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      September 19, 2020 at 8:31 am

      Thanks for all your tips and comments. One way to avoid the blanched dried pasta sheets sticking together is to add a little olive oil to the water. Not too much though as the olive oil prevents the pasta from absorbing the sauce. I thought I mentioned that in the recipe, but I now see I haven’t. I will do so. I love goat’s cheese too but, it’s true that not everyone does. However, as you say there are some types of feta made only from sheep milk. Ricotta salata is made from sheep milk so doesn’t have that goat’s cheese flavour. If you give this recipe another try and change the ingredient quantities do let me know how it turns out. All the best from Verona!

      Reply
  3. Michel Bonnet says

    May 05, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    Hello Jacqueline,
    Fantastic recipe of “Lasagna alla Norma”. Delicious sounding.
    Similar to the Greek Musaka – maybe?
    Questions: How long do I blanch the dry Lasagna sheets – for ? Minutes?
    Also, can the recipe be complemented with red Italian wine? somehow? somewhere?
    Ricotta Salata is going to be difficult to find here in the UK. So, maybe I’ll opt for Feta. (prefer not to).
    In French, it is called “Mondé les Tomatoes”. Nice and easy.
    Thank you for all your recipes – they all sound delicious.
    All the best.
    Michel

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Buon giorno and welcome to my pasta project! My name is Jacqui. I’m originally a Londoner but in 2003 life’s journey brought me to the beautiful Veneto region of Italy where… Read More

Top Italian Food Blog

3rd place in Top 50 Italian Food Blogs Awards by Feedspot

Italian Food Blogs

Follow Me

Tags

Abruzzo baked pasta calabria Campania dried pasta Emilia Romagna fresh pasta fusilli gnocchi homemade pasta lamb lasagna lasagne Lazio Le Marche Liguria linguine meat pasta mushrooms Northern Italy orecchiette paccheri pancetta pesto porcini Puglia quick and easy ragu Ravioli ricotta saffron Sardinia sausage seafood Sicily Southern Italy spaghetti tagliatelle tagliolini Trentino-Alto Adige tuna Tuscany vegan vegetarian Veneto

Visit My Shop

In my weekly newsletters, I write about my life in Italy, Italian places, traditions and culture, as well as other foods not just pasta! As a Pasta Project subscriber you'll also get a FREE recipe e-book series! Plus links to the latest recipes and posts.

So, sign up now and get the first recipe e-books to download!

Privacy Policy

Footer

  • Legal disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright & Disclaimer/ Terms of Use

Copyright © 2022 The Pasta Project on the Brunch Pro Theme