Light Pasta alla Norma with Air Fryer Eggplants is the perfect variant for those who want to follow a balanced diet without giving up traditional dishes. Fresh tomato sauce, the aroma of basil, and a generous grating of salted ricotta complete the dish, offering an explosion of Mediterranean flavor with every bite.
Pasta alla Norma is one of the iconic dishes of Sicilian tradition, loved for its simple and authentic flavors. In this light version, we retain all the taste of the original recipe but with a lighter preparation: the eggplants are not fried in oil but cooked in the air fryer, resulting in them being equally golden and tasty but with less fat.
Below you will find the classic version of the recipe:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Air Frying, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 11.3 oz pasta
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 7.1 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3.5 oz salted ricotta
- 1 eggplant (large)
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste basil
Steps
To prepare the light Pasta alla Norma with Air Fryer Eggplants, start by washing the cherry tomatoes and cutting them into quarters. Place a non-stick pan on the stove with a couple of tablespoons of oil and the garlic clove, stripped of its core, and let it brown. When the garlic is golden, pour in the tomato sauce and cherry tomatoes, add salt, a couple of basil leaves, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes over low heat.
Meanwhile, place a pot with plenty of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add salt, pour in the pasta (I used casarecce), and cook it.
In the meantime, focus on cooking the eggplants: wash them, remove the end, dry them with a cloth, and cut them into chunks. In a bowl, season the eggplants with oil, add a couple of pinches of salt, and mix everything.
Pour the eggplants into the basket of your air fryer and cook at 347°F for 12/15 minutes, turning them a couple of times during cooking. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can bake them in the oven. Arrange the eggplants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake at 356°F for 20/25 minutes or until golden.
Remove the garlic from the pan with the sauce, add the eggplants, a portion of grated salted ricotta, and mix everything with a spatula. Let it season for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Drain the pasta, add it directly into the sauce with the eggplants, and mix everything.
Serve the light Pasta alla Norma by grating the remaining salted ricotta on top, garnish with a couple of basil leaves, and enjoy your meal!
Storage
The light Pasta alla Norma with Air Fryer Eggplants can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one day in an airtight container.
