Pasta alla Norma is a typical dish of Sicilian cuisine known to everyone. It’s a very simple dish both in preparation and in the ingredients used, consisting of fried eggplants with the addition of tomato, basil, and salted ricotta. Pasta alla Norma is a typical dish of the Catanese tradition to which a national day has been dedicated on September 23. Like all dishes, pasta alla norma has some variations, but they differ very slightly from each other, for example in the way the eggplant is cut, some slice it, some dice it, and some julienne it, or for the sauce, instead of fresh tomato you can use tomato sauce, or canned tomatoes. While the pasta shape is strictly short, I chose rigatoni, but you can choose other types of shapes, as long as they are porous… The fact remains that it is a truly unique first course! I’ll now leave you with my recipe.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Frying, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants (about 1.3 lbs)
- 19.4 oz canned tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 14.1 oz pasta
- oil
- basil
- salt
- grated salted ricotta to taste
- Pan
Steps
Take the eggplants, wash them, trim them, and cut them into cubes. In a pan, put the oil and bring it to a temperature of 356°F and fry the eggplants for a few minutes, then drain them and place them on a plate with some paper towels.
In a pot, bring water to a boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Take the canned tomatoes and mash them with a fork.
Take a pan and put a bit of oil, garlic, and basil, heat and then add the tomato and salt. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Then remove the basil and garlic.
At the end of the tomato cooking, pour in the eggplants and mix everything. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and pour it into the sauce.
Pasta alla norma is ready, finish with a nice grating of salted ricotta and enjoy your meal!
Storage
Pasta alla norma is best consumed freshly made, but if any is left, put it in the fridge for a few hours.
