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Home » Specific Diets » Vegetarian

Published: Mar 21, 2021 · Modified: Aug 18, 2022 by Jacqui

Rigatoni Pasta alla Norma, a Sicilian Classic.


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Pasta alla Norma is a very simple but seriously tasty dish from the city of Catania in Sicily. It is usually made with pasta tubes such as rigatoni or penne rigate seasoned with tomato sauce and with the addition of fried eggplant, grated ricotta salata and basil.

rigatoni pasta alla Norma

I have to confess that before meeting my Sicilian hubby Salvatore, I had never eaten pasta alla Norma. Now, of course, I have lost count of how many times I’ve enjoyed this classic and famous Sicilian pasta recipe. My hubby has cooked it for me, his mum and sisters have cooked it for me and I’ve eaten it in Sicily.

pasta alla Norma

I have made an 'alla Norma' baked lasagna which was pretty good! But, this is my hubby’s recipe and since he hails from Catania, I guess you can’t get much more authentic than this! There are a number of other pasta alla Norma recipes out there which include ingredients such as capers, wine, onions, pecorino etc. but, the classic alla Norma is extremely simple and makes use of only a few ingredients.

ingredients for pasta alla Norma.
Step 1 Gather your ingredients

A little pasta alla Norma history.

There are a few theories on how this dish got its name. ‘Norma’ is an opera by Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania. One commonly quoted story is that the name was created by Nino Martoglio, a Sicilian writer, poet and theatre director, who loved this dish so much that he compared it to Bellini’s operatic masterpiece.

eggplant slices covered in salt on plate.
Step 2 Cut the eggplants into thick slices and sprinkle salt over them.

Another story is that while Bellini was writing his masterpiece, he regularly went to a restaurant and ordered just this dish of pasta, so the owner finally named it after the opera in honour of his famous customer. Some say that at that time, the dish was plated in a slightly different way to make it look like Sicily’s famous volcano, Etna. The eggplant was placed at the bottom, a hill of pasta was piled on top of the eggplant and the tomato sauce with grated ricotta salata covered everything!

egglant slices cooking in olive oil in  frying pan.
Step 3 Rinse the salt from the eggplant, pat dry and fry in olive oil

The main ingredients for pasta alla Norma.

Eggplants!

Introduced to Sicily by the Arabs in about 900AD, eggplants are to Sicily what potatoes are to Ireland. There are three main types of eggplants found on the island; the very dark oval or long ones that most people outside of Italy know, oval zebra eggplants which have a lighter striped skin and the more rotund, lighter coloured Sicilian eggplant.

Fried eggplant slices on glass plate.
Step 4 When the eggplants are ready, set aside on a plate.

The latter are what my husband used for this recipe. This eggplant has a dense whiter flesh and less seeds than the more common eggplant. But, of course, you can use whichever kind you find.

Peeled garlic cloves cooking in olive oil  in frying pan.
Step 5 Sauté the garlic cloves in olive oil.

Tomatoes!

When it comes to the tomatoes, fresh is best especially if you can get hold of San Marzano tomatoes. However, a good quality Italian passata rustica or tinned whole tomatoes from Italy work well too. Alternatively you can use a mixture of fresh tomatoes and passata. This time we used just passata.

Tomato passata added to frying pan.
Step 6 Remove the garlic and add tomato passata or peeled tomatoes to the pan.

The cheese!

As with many pasta recipes, cheese is more than mere seasoning for pasta alla Norma. You can’t have it without the cheese which really should be ricotta salata. This is a typical Sicilian cheese. The word 'ricotta' means re-cooked and 'salata' means salted. Ricotta Salata is cheese made from the whey 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.

pieces of fried eggplant in frying pan with tomato sauce.
Step 7 Cut half the eggplant slices into small pieces and add to the tomato sauce.

Ricotta salata can be bought from Italian speciality food shops or online, but if you can’t find it, 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.

Rigatoni pasta from pasta makers Liguori
Rigatoni from pasta makers Liguori

The pasta!

As I mentioned above pasta alla Norma is traditionally made with short pasta tubes such as rigatoni. We used rigatoni from pasta makers Liguori. This company is located in Gragnano near Naples. Gragnano is famous for its dried pasta. In fact, they have been making pasta there for more than 500 years! And, I think some of the best Italian pasta comes from there! However, you can use other pasta tubes or even spaghetti.

Cooked pasta in a bowl mixed with tomato and eggplant sauce with basil leaves on top.
Step 8 Cook the pasta, drain and mix with the sauce. Add some fresh basil and serve with grated ricotta salata.

Let me know what you think.

In Catania, families traditionally place the remaining ricotta salata with the grater and a plate with extra fried eggplant slices in the middle of the table. As they eat their pasta alla Norma, they often add extra cheese and eggplant along the way!  Not a bad idea!

My hubby Salvatore eating his pasta alla Norma
Salvatore enjoying his pasta alla Norma.

If you do try this pasta alla Norma, I’d love to hear what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.

Your feedback means a lot to me!

Buon Appetito!

SAVE THIS RECIPE FOR LATER?

If you want to save this recipe for later, you can print it, bookmark this page or save it to Pinterest.

Other classic Sicilian pasta recipes to try.

  1. Pasta con sarde with sardines and wild fennel
  2. Baked anelletti
  3. Pasta with ricotta and pistachio pesto
  4. Spaghetti with salt cod (baccalà)

This recipe was first published in 2017, but it has been updated with new photos and text.

rigatoni pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma

Jacqui
Pasta alla Norma is a classic and famous vegetarian Sicilian pasta dish  is full of Mediterranean summer flavours. It's easy to make and perfect for family meals and special occasions.
5 from 29 votes
Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean, Sicilian, Southern Italian
Servings 4
Calories 518 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Rigatoni (14oz) or other pasta tubes
  • 500 g San Marzano tomatoes (1lb) or tomato passata or half and half
  • 2-4 eggplants Depending on size
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 10-12 basil leaves chopped
  • 150 g Ricotta Salata (5oz) grated
  • extra virgin olive oil. as required
  • salt for pasta water and to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cut the eggplants into slices and place them in layers in a dish or colander with some salt sprinkled between the slices. Let them sweat for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture. When ready rinse off the salt and pat dry.

Prepare the tomato sauce;

  • If you are using fresh tomatoes, peel them by immersing them in boiling water and then cold water and then removing the skin. Cut them in half, remove most of the pips and chop them into pieces
  • Heat up 4 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan or skillet, Add the peeled cloves of garlic and let them brown a little. 
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes until they start to soften.
  • Add the passata, stir well, add a pinch of salt and cook for another 10 minutes (20 minutes if you are using only passata)

Fry the eggplants;

  • Fry the eggplant slices in plenty of hot olive oil until they turn golden on each side, dry them with kitchen paper if required, then cut some of them into small squares (leave at least one slice for each person).
  • Add some of these squares to the saucepan of tomato sauce (leave enough to add a few to each person’s plate)

Cook the pasta;

  • Cook the pasta al dente in boiling salted water, drain it and add it to the sauce, which may need to be reheated first if you cooked it earlier. Add black pepper to taste and the basil. Mix the pasta and the sauce together well.

How to serve alla Norma;

  • Put one whole fried eggplant slice into the bottom of each plate, cover with the pasta and sauce, add a few more squares of fried eggplant and sprinkle with grated ricotta salata. Serve immediately
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Notes

In Catania,  families traditionally place the remaining ricotta salata with the grater and a plate with extra fried eggplant slices in the middle of the table. As they eat, they often add extra cheese and eggplant along the way!  Not a bad idea!
This pasta alla Norma recipe can be made with any short tubular pasta such as penne or rigatoni, which Sicilians often refer to as maccheroni. It's better is the pasta is 'rigate' with ridges or grooves. You can also use spaghetti.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcalCarbohydrates: 95gProtein: 21gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 221mgPotassium: 1034mgFiber: 11gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 419IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 164mgIron: 3mg
Keyword alla Norma, eggplants, rigatoni, Sicilian pasta, vegetarian
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Reader Interactions

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    Recipe Rating




  1. bill says

    June 03, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    Iv'e made this dish countless times since I found it here.
    Sometimes I make the sauce with anchovies for a change, and I have to use feta cheese because I can't find salted ricotta, but it's an excellent and easy dish.

    Reply
  2. Jan says

    May 20, 2022 at 11:31 am

    Did it yesterday. Really good. Love this site.

    Reply
  3. Simone says

    May 09, 2021 at 2:20 pm

    Really nice recipe! Will it be okay if I pop the eggplant slices in the oven instead of frying them?

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      May 09, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Hi Simone, thanks for your comment. Yes, you can bake the eggplant slices. However, they won't be quite as flavourful as the fried ones. But definitely easier and healthier! Let me know how your alla Norma turns out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

      Reply
  4. Genevieve | Fitty Foodlicious says

    March 31, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    This pasta recipe looks super delicious! Love the use of eggplant too!

    Reply
    • Jacqui says

      April 02, 2021 at 8:32 am

      Thanks for your comment Genevieve, I think the eggplant is the star of this traditional Sicilian pasta dish. Adds so much flavour!

      Reply
  5. Chef Dennis says

    March 29, 2021 at 4:23 pm

    I just saw this made on Stanley Tucci's show, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  6. Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli says

    March 29, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    We love Pasta all Norma! Such a simple, tasty dish! As usual, with Italian cooking, a few good quality ingredients, create a symphony of flavors.

    Reply
  7. Natalie says

    March 29, 2021 at 11:59 am

    Thank you for sharing this lovely story about pasta and a wonderful recipe. It looks absolutely delicious. I'm such a huge fan of pasta, and I love trying out new recipes. Can't wait to make this one.

    Reply
  8. Alex says

    March 28, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    I love that it doesn't use so many ingredients! Sometimes simple is really best. I don't have time for fussy so this is perfect for my family.

    Reply
  9. Erin says

    March 28, 2021 at 8:17 pm

    My kid just loves eggplants but I never know what to do with them! I totally need to try this. It looks so simple but tasty!

    Reply
  10. Julie says

    March 28, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    What a great pasta dish! The flavors in this rigatoni and so comforting and it came out fabulous. I can't wait to make it again soon.

    Reply
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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…

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