How to Make Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla norma, has everything you want from a delicious Sicilian pasta dish. Furthermore, crispy eggplant, salty ricotta cheese, luscious tomato sauce…and the ideal pasta shape to scoop it all up with. Fun fact: Pasta alla norma is named after Bellini’s 19th-century opera, Norma..and I promise you’ll be singing your way back to the pan for more once you try this satisfying eggplant pasta treat.
Watch Pasta alla Norma video recipe:
How to Make PASTA ALLA NORMA like a Sicilian
Vincenzo’s Top Tips To Make Pasta alla Norma
It’s in the quality
Pasta alla norma’s key ingredient is eggplant so make sure to get best and quality tender eggplants for this recipe
Keep ’em away from burning
To prevent burning the garlic, add a tablespoon of water (slowly) to the pan, and mix it through.
Let the air come in
Leave the lid slightly off centre on top of the pot letting some air in so the pot doesn’t overflow.
Pasta alla Norma
Equipment
- 2 Medium sized deep pans
- Medium size mixing bowl
- Vegetable masher
- wooden spoon
- knife
- Large pot (for boiling pasta)
- Hand sieve
- Grater
- knife
Ingredients
- 300 grams Casarecce Dry Pasta 8oz
- Small bunch fresh basil
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Ricotta Salata Up to 250g
- 1 bottle Passata or can peeled tomatoes
- 1-2 Eggplants
- Extra virgin olive oil EVOO
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt + Pepper
- 5 L Water
Instructions
- Pasta alla norma needs quality tender eggplants, so start by trimming the top and bottom of one (or two) and then cut into strips.
- In the meantime, heat up vegetable oil in a deep pan or small pot.
- Once the oil reaches a temperature of 180°C/356°F (or you can see it is ready!) place a handful of your strips in at a time and fry them up!
- Pasta alla norma is all about the crispy eggplant, so once the eggplant strips are golden brown, remove from the oil and put them onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess liquid and leave to rest.
- Add 5L water to a large pot and leave it to boil while you prepare your sauce.
- This Sicilian Eggplant pasta is made with a fresh tomato sauce, so pour the peeled tomatoes into a medium mixing bowl and crush using a vegetable mashing utensil.
- Once you have created a puree of tomatoes, add salt and pepper and mix with a wooden spoon.
- Next place a medium size pan on your stove at low-medium heat and warm up a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Once the oil is slightly warm crush the garlic cloves, adding them to the pan and stir.
- Pour the tomato mix into the pan and drop the temperature to a lower heat so it cooks slowly.
- Now it’s time to cook your pasta, so add a tablespoon of rock salt to the water, stir to help dissolve and leave to cook as per packet instructions.
- Add ¾ of the eggplant to your sauce and leave to simmer (at a low temperature) before breaking up a few fresh basil leaves and adding these too.
- Once the pasta is ready, get a cup full of pasta water and put it to the side.
- Using a hand sieve, strain the pasta and add it to the sauce before adding the cup of water and stirring through, leaving it to cook for one more minute.
- Grate some ricotta salata in the pan and mix through until melted.
- E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!
Video
How to serve Pasta alla Norma
Add a few generous scoops of pasta to a serving bowl, a small handful of crispy eggplant (remember the extra you had put to the side?) along with freshly grated ricotta salata and a couple of basil leaves…
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Wonderful Pasta alla Norma recipe! Takes me back to the east side of Sicily. I prefer to salt the sliced eggplant and let it sit for 30 minutes before frying and then not use much salt in the sauce. Also, due to a family member who isn’t fond of cheese, I only add that after plating for those who want it. Thank you for posting this.
Beautiful pasta recipe!!! What wine would you recommend to pair this recipe ?
I’m thrilled you like the pasta alla norma. For a wine pairing, I’d suggest a medium-bodied red like Nero d’Avola or a fruity Chianti.