Pasta alla Norma
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.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr
Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Sicilian, Southern Italian
Keyword: alla Norma, eggplants, rigatoni, Sicilian pasta, vegetarian
Servings: 4
Calories: 518kcal
- 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
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.
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.
Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 1034mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 419IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 3mg