Pasta Alla Norma Authentic Sicilian Eggplant Recipe

Pasta Alla Norma is a traditional Sicilian pasta recipe from the city of Catania, where eggplants are grown in the fertile soil of the Etna Vulcano. The pasta sauce is made with simple ingredients fried eggplants, tomato sauce, and basil, and sprinkled with salted ricotta. A delightful vegetarian meal perfect for a hot Summer, pasta alle melanzane.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Frying the eggplants
• Making the sauce
• Boiling the pasta
• Top tips
• Homemade tomato sauce
• What true Norma means
• More Italian eggplant recipes
• 📋Pasta Alla Norma Authentic Sicilian Recipe

This Pasta alla Norma recipe originates from Catania, a town located on the slope of the volcano Etna on the eastern coast of Sicily on the Ionian Sea.

The volcanic earth around Catania makes the land very fertile.

This, coupled with the sun's intense heat, means that the region produces some of the most fantastic fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes, eggplants, almonds, and pistachios.

These ingredients are regularly used in many Catanese recipes, especially the eggplant in dishes like caponata, arancini, eggplant Parmesan, baked pasta with eggplants, pasta with swordfish ragu and eggplants, pizza with eggplants locally called Pizza Alla Norma.

If you ever decide to go to Catania and arrive at the airport Fontanarossa, I suggest you visit the famous rosticceria Caffe Parisi where you will find all these dishes made with eggplant.

It is one of the best in Catania, and the Catanesi take special dining trips.

For more appetizers with eggplants, check out the story: 15 Authentic Italian Eggplant Recipes

Ingredients

Rigatoni pasta

The authentic pasta alla norma is made with Maccheroni rigati or Rigatoni, short tubular pasta with stripes. This shape helps absorb the sauce and create the perfect eggplant bite.

If you cannot find Maccheroni, you can also use other short pasta like Penne or Ziti.

The other ingredients are:

• 2 eggplants
• ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups homemade tomato sauce or Mutti tomato sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 4 tablespoon ricotta salata, which is different than fresh ricotta cheese

Why Ricotta Salata and not Parmesan

Parmesan is a cheese from Parma located in the North of Italy; this classic Sicilian dish uses the local salty ricotta salata cheese.

Ricotta Salata is salted and aged ricotta made with sheep's milk.

It is not as sweet as Parmesan and is slightly more bitter and acidic, like Pecorino Romano. It gives a nice contrast to the fried eggplants.

If you cannot find Ricotta Salata, use Pecorino and, as a last resort, Parmesan

Frying the eggplants

1. Cut the eggplants into chunks
2. Pour ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil into a frying pan and bring it to a very high temperature
3. Stir fry the eggplants
4. Until they are soft and golden brown, stirring occasionally

5. Transfer the eggplants into a tray lined with kitchen paper
6. Cover with more kitchen paper to absorb all the excess oil

Making the sauce

1. In the same frying pan, add the chopped garlic cloves
2. Remove the garlic once it is brown
3. Add the tomato sauce and the basil leaves
4. Let it simmer for 10 minutes
5. Mix with the eggplants and stir

Boiling the pasta

1. Bring to boil a large pot of salted water
2. Once the water is boiling, pour the pasta and boil for the amount of time specified on the package, minus 1 minute
3. Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and pour the cooked pasta into the frying pan with the sauce immediately
4. Stir until it is all well combined
5. Transfer into a serving dish
6. Sprinkle with ricotta salata and eat

If you want to follow the Italian rules for cooking pasta, you can read the recipe: How to cook pasta like an Italian

Top tips

The success of this traditional Sicilian pasta dish is based on the eggplants not being too greasy.

Eggplants are like sponges and will absorb all the oil, so here are some important tips:

• Buy nice firm eggplants, and make sure they don't have too many seeds. If they do, throw them away, buy new ones, and restart.
• You can use round or normal eggplants. I use the round as I chop the eggplants into chunks. If you want to use eggplant slices, buy regular, long slim eggplants
• Many recipes call for the eggplants to be salted and pressed for 1 hour into a strainer with a weight to drain their bitter juices. I don't do that anymore, as the eggplants you buy now are no longer as bitter as they once were. It is up to you.
• To fry the eggplants, it is important to use extra virgin olive oil. It adds flavor, so flavorless oils are unsuitable for this recipe.
• Before you add the eggplants to the oil, make sure the oil is extremely hot. It will cook the eggplants faster, reducing the amount of oil absorbed.
• Once the eggplants are cooked, lay them on top of 2 layers of kitchen paper towel and cover them with the same. Press the paper towel to ensure the paper releases and absorbs excess oil.
• For a rich tomato sauce, cook the tomato sauce in the same oil that you fried the eggplants in, as it is full of flavor
• For a lighter sauce, you can use roasted eggplant instead of fried

Homemade tomato sauce

In this recipe, I use my own homemade tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes; you can find the recipe on the link and find out how to preserve it for the winter.

If you want to know how in Italy we make pasta with a simple tomato sauce, you will find the recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe

What true Norma means

Norma in Italian is short for Normativa - rules, meaning made within the rules, but the dish's name probably has a different origin.

A well-known comedian and Sicilian writer from Catania, Nino Martoglio (1870-1921) compared the perfection of this iconic pasta dish to a famous opera from Vincenzo Bellini (originally also from Catania) "La Norma" that was presented in 1831 at the Scala theatre in Milan.

Norma has, with time, become the synonym of any Italian recipe where fried eggplants are added: Pizza, Arancini, baked pasta, the choice is vast.

More Italian eggplant recipes

For more eggplant recipes, check out the category: Vegetables

Also check the recipes below:

• Grilled zucchini eggplants and peppers
• Baked Eggplant Pasta Anelletti
• Aubergine caviar
• Deep Fried Eggplant Balls
• Easy Ratatouille Recipe Baked
• Sicilian Caponata
• Pasta with Swordfish Ragu and Eggplants
• Vegetarian Rice Timbale with Grilled Eggplants Recipe
• Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
• Traditional Pasta Alla Norma with Eggplants

If you are making the Traditional Pasta alla Norma, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.