Lasagne alla Norma (meatless eggplant lasagna)

Pasta alla Norma fans and eggplant lovers are sure to love this baked lasagne version of Sicily's most famous pasta recipe. Lasagna alla Norma contains all the ingredients of the original recipe; fresh tomato sauce, delicious fried eggplant and savory ricotta salata, and combines it with a creamy fresh ricotta sauce and fine egg noodle sheets.

Where does pasta alla Norma come from?

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 typical Mediterranean ingredients; tomatoes, eggplant and basil, plus pasta usually rigatoni.

This dish is interesting because the pasta is traditionally 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.

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.

People believe he used this expression to indicate just how good the dish was by comparing it to the famous opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. Coincidentally, the opera was on the program of the opening of the new Massimo Bellini theatre in Catania that same evening.

Vincenzo 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.

Main ingredient notes for lasagna alla Norma.

The pasta

Although pasta alla Norma is usually served with short pasta tubes such as rigatoni or penne rigate, lasagna alla Norma calls for sheets of lasagne pasta. You can use homemade, regular dried or no-boil, or fresh store-bought pasta sheets.

This time I used ready made fresh lasagne sheets from pasta makers Giovanni Rana. However, I often make my own pasta sheets for lasagna. If you would like to do the same, checkout my recipe for homemade lasagne.

Cook's Tip: If using regular dried lasagna sheets, you will need to blanch them in boiling salted water before assembling your lasagna alla norma. Adding a drizzle of olive oil to the pasta cooking water helps prevent the blanched dried pasta sheets from sticking together.

The tomato sauce.

Although you could use a ready-made tomato sauce for this lasagna, homemade definitely tastes better! This time, I used canned and peeled datterini tomatoes with some extra passata. Canned and peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes or even just passata are good too. In summer, I like to use fresh sauce tomatoes that I peel, cook and purée myself.

Ricotta salata

Ricotta salata is a typical Sicilian cheese which is an essential ingredient in pasta alla Norma and this lasagna 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.

This cheese is becoming more widely available outside of Italy than in the past. You can find it in Italian specialty shops, high-end supermarkets and from online gourmet retailers.

Cooks tip: 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.

Fresh ricotta cream.

This recipe is different to other types of baked lasagna like lasagne alla Bolognese because instead of béchamel (white sauce), it includes a ricotta cream. This is made by creaming fresh cow or sheep milk ricotta with normal milkin a large bowl. Grated nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper add flavor to the ricotta cream.

Eggplants.

Eggplants, also called aubergine in UK and melanzane in Italian are a popular ingredient in Southern Italian dishes and pasta recipes. Italians cultivate a number of varieties. For this lasagna alla norma, I used round Sicilian eggplants (melanzane viola) which are sweeter than regular large eggplants and have less seeds and a whiter flesh.

However, you can use quite large regular dark purple eggplants (in Italian melanzane nera) which are probably the most common outside of Italy and perfect for frying in large slices!

Other ingredients.

Fresh basil: This typical Mediterranean herb adds a fresh herby flavor to the tomato sauce and the lasagna alla norrma as a whole. Dried basil isn't recommended. If you only have dried herbs leave the basil out or use dried oregano.

Olive oil: As with many pasta dishes, olive oil is used for the tomato sauce part of this recipe. For the best flavor use an good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Vegetable or seed oil: Italians rarely use vegetable or seed oil for sauces or ragu. But they are a good choice for frying the eggplants because eggplants absorb a lot of oil when fried and this can be expensive if you use olive oil.

Plus, olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, has a lower smoke point and delicate compounds that break down at high heat. However, I often use olive oil to fry eggplant as we buy our oil from local farmers in large quatities.

Cooks tip: By slightly grilling the eggplant slices before frying, they become drier and absorb less oil during frying.

Step by Step instructions

Preparation.

Grate the ricotta salata, peel the garlic cloves, wash the fresh basil and the eggplants and drain the fresh ricotta well.

Step 1) Make the tomato sauce. Fry the peeled garlic cloves in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until they start to soften. Then add the canned tomatoes and/or passata. Let the sauce simmer on a low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. When ready, add torn basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste and remove the garlic cloves.

Step 2) Prepare the eggplants. Cut the washed eggplant into slices about 1.25 cms thick (0.5"). You can grill the eggplant first to dry the slices out a bit. Fry until golden brown in olive or vegetable/seed oil. Leave the fried eggplant slices on a grill rack or on kitchen paper towel to drain off the excess oil. Then, cut half the eggplant slices into small pieces.

Step 3) Make the ricotta cream. Use an immersion blender or even a fork to cream the fresh ricotta with the 3-4 tablespoons of fresh whole milk until you have a thick creamy sauce similar to Greek yogurt in consistency. Add grated nutmeg and some freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Assemble your lasagna alla Norma.

Step 1) Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the entire bottom of a rectangular baking pan. I used a pyrex baking dish. Then place a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Next spread some more tomato basil sauce over the pasta, plus some ricotta cream and some cut pieces of eggplant.

Step 2) Sprinkle grated ricotta salata over this first layer. Then repeat the layering 3-4 times more beginning with lasagne sheets, then tomato sauce and ricotta cream followed by eggplant pieces and grated ricotta salata.

Step 3) For the last layer place just tomatos sauce, whole eggplant slices and a sprinkling of ricotta salata. You can also add some fresh mozzarella slices or a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano on top of the ready to bake lasagna. I didn't do this as I wanted to keep my lasagna vegetarian and traditional Italian mozzarella and Parmigiano cheese aren't vegetarin friendly.

Bake and serve.

Bake your lasagna alla Norma in a preheated oven at 180°c (356°F) for about 20-25 minutes. Cover it with aluminium foil for the first 10 minutes to prevent the ricotta salata from burning. Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

What to do with leftovers.

You can prepare lasagna alla Norma a day in advance and then leave it in the fridge and bake the next day.  Leftovers can also be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days, then reheated in the oven on a low heat covered in aluminuim foil. I think reheated leftovers are just as delicious as when the lasagna is first baked.

Let me know what you think.

This delicious lasagna alla Norma doesn’t contain meat, so it’s great for vegetarians too. It's full of typical Mediterranean flavor and a great summer season dish to serve as a starter (primo in Italian) or main course.

If you try this lasagna version of pasta alla Norma, do let me know what you think. I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. So, please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Buon appetito!

Other eggplant pasta recipes to try.

• Eggplant parmigiana lasagna
• Pasta stuffed eggplant boats
• Pasta with swordfish and eggplant
• Baked whole wheat pasta with eggplant alla Siciliana.
• Orecchiette with nduja and eggplant.
• Fagottini filled with eggplant and mozzarella

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