Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma: Sicily's eggplant, tomato, and ricotta salata classic. Discover the opera behind the name and the eggplant trick.
40 min
Easy
Italiana
2 servings
The story behind
In Catania, at the foot of Mount Etna, this pasta is practically an anthem. Local lore holds that the playwright Nino Martoglio tasted the dish and declared it "a Norma," comparing it to the opera by Vincenzo Bellini, Catania's great composer, as the highest possible praise for its perfection. True or not, the name stuck, and today it captures Sicily on a plate. Eggplant is the star, and it's best fried until deeply golden, then drained on paper: that sheds the excess oil while keeping the inside creamy, the contrast of caramelized edge and soft center that holds the whole dish together. The tomato purée simmers separately with just garlic and olive oil until it reduces into a sauce of deep, concentrated color. Short pasta like penne rigate catches the sauce in its ridges. The non-negotiable finishing touch is grated ricotta salata, a dry, salty sheep's-milk cheese native to the island, which provides the counterpoint that sets alla Norma apart from any ordinary tomato pasta. Toss everything off the heat and serve at once, with fresh basil leaves that perfume the plate at the first bite.
Instructions
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1Place the eggplant cubes in a colander, sprinkle with a bit of salt, and let them sit for 15 minutes to sweat out any bitterness. Rinse briefly and pat them completely dry with paper towels.
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2Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant cubes until they turn tender and beautifully golden brown all over. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
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3In the same skillet, turn the heat down slightly, add the minced garlic, and cook for about a minute without letting it burn. Pour in the tomato purée, season with salt and pepper, toss in half of the basil leaves, and let it simmer gently for 10 minutes to thicken.
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4While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente according to package directions, then drain well.
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5Toss the drained pasta and most of the golden eggplant cubes straight into the skillet with the tomato sauce. Stir gently for a minute to coat everything evenly, then plate immediately, topping each portion with the remaining eggplant, grated cheese, and fresh basil leaves.
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