Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma is all about the crunchy eggplant, velvety sauce and a generous sprinkle of salted ricotta cheese. A mouthwatering dish ideal for any occasion.

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Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: Eggplant, Pasta alla Norma, Salted Ricotta, Sicilian Pasta, Tomato Sauce

Difficulty: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 679kcal

Ingredients

For the Tomato Sauce

4 cup tomatoes roma or plum (see notes)
2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
2 sprig basil
2 cloves garlic whole

For the eggplant

5 cup eggplant diced (see notes)
½ cup olive oil extra virgin
2 tbsp rock salt
1/2 cup flour

For the Pasta

12 oz pasta uncooked (see notes)

For the topping

8 tbsp ricotta salted
4 tsp olive oil extra virgin
2 tbsp basil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by cutting the eggplant by the lenght in slices of 1/4 inch thickness.
Place them in a colander and cover each slice with rock salt. Let them drain for 30 minutes.
Pat the eggplant dry and cut them in cubes.
In the mean time, put some olive oil and the garlic in a pot, add the coarsely chopped tomatoes and the basil. Cook it until the tomatoes are soft. Pass the sauce into a sieve and extract the pulp. Return it to the pot, add a bit of oilve oil and salt, let it simmer for 15 min utes.
Heat the water to boil the pasta and add salt. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook accordingly to the packaging instructions.
Heat some EVOO oil in a frying pan. Coat the eggplant cubes in flour and, when the oil is hot, fry the eggplants until golden brown. Let them rest over some paper towel and sprinkle them with a bit of salt.
When the pasta is al dente, add some cold running water and throw it in a colander. Add it to the tomato sauce pot.
Serve it in individual plate, place on top the fried eggplants, the salted ricotta, some fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

I recommend Roma or Plum variety as they have pulpy meat, resulting in a sauce that is compact and not watery.
For this recipe I chose to coat the eggplant in flour, before frying them, in order to obtain a crunchier texture.
For this pasta, use Rigatoni shape.
Always add salt to the water before boiling, regardless of the sauce you will put on your pasta.
Once you switch off the stove, quickly take the pot to your sink and add a bit of cold running water to stop the cooking – this will ensure your pasta is “al dente” (firm to the tooth).

Nutrition

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