Pasta alla Norma (Print Version)
Tender fried eggplant, savory tomato sauce, and salty ricotta salata come together in this comforting Sicilian favorite that's irresistibly rich.
# Ingredients:
→ Pasta Ingredients
01 -
12 oz (340g) short pasta (like casarecce)
02 -
23 oz (660g) ripe Italian eggplants (about 2 medium ones)
03 -
30 oz (850g) whole canned tomatoes, peeled
04 -
2 big garlic cloves
05 -
1/3 cup high-quality olive oil
06 -
A small bunch of fresh basil
07 -
Black pepper and salt as needed
08 -
1/3 cup grated ricotta salata cheese
# Steps:
01 -
Cut your eggplant into small cubes. If you'd like, slice a couple of thin strips for decorating later. Toss the cubes with plenty of salt in a colander. Leave them for 15 or 20 minutes over a plate to drain. Afterward, wipe them dry with paper towels to get rid of extra water and salt.
02 -
As the eggplant rests, warm up a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan. Toss in the garlic and cook it until it's a soft golden color. Add the canned tomatoes and crush them a bit using a spoon. Sprinkle with salt, tear the basil leaves into pieces, and let everything bubble gently with the lid on for 20 minutes.
03 -
Pour a bit of olive oil into a bigger pan and heat it. Fry the eggplant cubes in small batches, letting each side brown lightly. Scoop out the cooked pieces onto a plate lined with paper towels to lose some of the oil. Do this for all the cubes until they're done.
04 -
Turn off the heat under the tomato sauce and blend it until smooth. You can use either a stick blender or a regular blender for this step.
05 -
Stir half of the fried eggplant into the blended tomato sauce. Cover it with a lid and keep it simmering gently for about 10 minutes.
06 -
Bring a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta, cooking it a couple of minutes shy of the al dente instructions on the package. Scoop out a bit of the starchy cooking water before draining the pasta.
07 -
Add your drained pasta to the simmering sauce, along with a splash of the reserved pasta water and the rest of the eggplant (save some for the topping). Let it cook together until the pasta has soaked up some sauce and reaches al dente perfection.
08 -
Spoon the Pasta alla Norma into serving bowls. Decorate with the remaining eggplant pieces and a nice helping of grated ricotta salata.
# Helpful Notes:
01 -
Salting the eggplant helps it release water and lose any bitterness.
02 -
Ricotta salata is a firmer, salty version of ricotta. If you don’t have it, pecorino romano makes a good stand-in.