Pasta alla Norma is a conventional Sicilian pasta dish made with a flavorful tomato sauce and eggplant. Learn to make it with this simple recipe!
Eggplant lovers, this pasta alla Norma recipe is for you! Eggplant skeptics, I feel you’ll really get behind this Sicilian pasta too. It stars a garlicky tomato sauce stuffed with tender eggplant slices. The eggplant virtually melts into the sauce, thickening it and including wealthy taste. I spherical it out with ricotta salata cheese and a bathe of recent basil.
Pasta alla Norma is a traditional Italian pasta dish that originated in Sicily, within the metropolis of Catania. My recipe has conventional flavors, that includes a tomato sauce with eggplant, ricotta salata, and basil, however I roast the eggplant as an alternative of frying it. I feel roasting is simpler—it’s completely hands-off, leaving you free to prepare dinner the pasta and begin the tomato sauce. I additionally love that the eggplant caramelizes within the oven with much less oil than you’d use on the stovetop.
This pasta alla Norma recipe is among the eggplant recipes I make each summer season, together with eggplant Parmesan, caponata, ratatouille… Like all these dishes, it’s a scrumptious, traditional method to make use of eggplant whereas it’s in season. I hope you find it irresistible as a lot as I do!
Pasta Alla Norma Elements
Right here’s what you’ll must make this pasta alla Norma recipe:
- Eggplant, in fact! I sometimes use Italian globe eggplants or graffiti eggplants on this recipe. I don’t peel the eggplant, so I like that these sorts have the next ratio of flesh to pores and skin than, say, Japanese eggplants do. Search for ones with taut skins that really feel heavy for his or her measurement.
- Additional-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Canned entire peeled tomatoes – They make up the bottom of the sauce. I crush them with my fingers earlier than cooking—I like the irregular, pure texture. In a pinch, use canned crushed tomatoes in its place.
- Tomato paste – It thickens the canned tomatoes and provides concentrated, umami taste.
- Garlic, dried oregano, and pink pepper flakes – They add fragrant depth of taste to the sauce. Should you’re delicate to spice, be happy to skip or scale back the pink pepper flakes.
- Ricotta salata – This isn’t the identical ricotta you’d use in lasagna. Ricotta salata is a firmer aged cheese with a salty, funky chunk. It’s the traditional selection for pasta alla Norma, however in the event you can’t discover it, pecorino Romano is an efficient substitute. In a pinch, Parmesan works too.
- Rigatoni or ziti pasta – I like how these tube-shaped pastas seize the thick eggplant sauce, however you could possibly use nearly any sort of pasta you want. I’ve had nice outcomes with lengthy shapes like spaghetti and linguine!
- Contemporary basil leaves – For freshness. Contemporary parsley, thyme, or oregano are additionally scrumptious.
- And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements beneath.
The best way to Make Pasta Alla Norma
This pasta alla Norma recipe has 4 easy steps:
1. Begin by roasting the eggplant. Slice it into skinny half-moons, season it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 425°F till tender and browned, 25 to 35 minutes.
2. Prepare dinner the pasta in a big pot of salted boiling water till al dente. I prefer to time this with simmering the sauce in order that I don’t want to empty the pasta. See the ideas beneath!
3. Simmer the sauce. Sizzle the garlic, oregano, and pink pepper flakes in a big skillet, then stir within the tomato paste and add the crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, or till the sauce thickens barely.
4. Combine all of it collectively. Use a spider or slotted spoon to switch the pasta from the pot to the skillet with the sauce. Stir to coat, then add the eggplant, adopted by 1/2 cup ricotta salata. Stir till the cheese melts, including pasta water as wanted to assist it alongside.
Season to style and serve!
Recipe Suggestions
- Time cooking the pasta with simmering the sauce. My #1 tip for constructing a pasta sauce with easy elements is to add the pasta instantly from the pot. That method, it’s calmly coated in pasta cooking water, which seasons the sauce and provides starches that assist the sauce coat the pasta. This works greatest when your sauce is prepared on the identical time your pasta is al dente. Be certain that to prep the sauce elements earlier than you drop the pasta, then simmer the sauce whereas it cooks.
- Add pasta water to assist the cheese soften. If the ricotta salata isn’t melting easily into the sauce, you possibly can add pasta water, a little bit at a time, to heat the cheese and assist it loosen into the sauce. Sprinkling the cheese evenly over the pasta (vs including it in a single massive pile) helps too.
- Get forward. Need to streamline this recipe? Be at liberty to prepare dinner the eggplant as much as 3 days forward and retailer it within the fridge till you’re able to make the sauce. You can also make the total sauce prematurely too. It retains nicely within the fridge for as much as 3 days and freezes nicely for as much as 3 months.
Extra Eggplant Recipes to Strive
Should you love this pasta alla Norma, strive certainly one of these scrumptious eggplant recipes subsequent:
Pasta alla Norma
Serves 4
Pasta alla Norma is a traditional Italian pasta dish that comes from Sicily. It is tossed in a wealthy, flavorful tomato sauce with eggplant and ricotta salata cheese. On this recipe, I roast the eggplant as an alternative of frying it for simpler prep. It is a scrumptious, satisfying vegetarian dinner!
Stop your display from going darkish
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line two massive baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the tomatoes and their juices in a big bowl and use your fingers to crush them. Put aside.
Halve the eggplants lengthwise, then lower every half into ¼- to ½-inch-thick half-moons. Lower any very massive half-moons in half to kind wedges.
Divide the eggplant between the 2 baking sheets. Drizzle every sheet with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (4 tablespoons complete) and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and unfold evenly on the baking sheets. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes, or till tender and calmly browned.
Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta in line with the package deal directions, cooking till al dente.
In the meantime, warmth the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the garlic, oregano, and pink pepper flakes and sizzle for 30 seconds. Stir within the tomato paste, then add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and a number of other grinds of pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, or till barely thickened.
When the pasta is al dente, use a spider or slotted spoon to switch it from the pot to the skillet with the sauce. Add the roasted eggplant and stir to coat. Add the cheese and stir till melted, including pasta water as wanted to assist it soften into the sauce.
Season to style and serve topped with basil and extra cheese, if desired.
