Chef Graziella
Agnolotti del Plin
The pinched pasta of Piedmont, each tiny parcel sealed with thumb and forefinger, filled with braised meat that has surrendered to hours of slow cooking. Butter or broth. Nothing more.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Pasta alla Norma
Created by
Sicily's gift to the pasta canon: golden fried eggplant, honest tomato sauce, the sharp salt of aged ricotta, and basil that perfumes every bite. Named for an opera because it deserved the honor.
Main Dishes
Italian, Sicilian
Weeknight
Comfort Food
45 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
The Sicilians do not apologize for frying. They understand that eggplant, properly salted and fried in good olive oil until the edges crisp and the flesh turns silken, becomes something miraculous. Baked eggplant is a concession to guilt. Fried eggplant is a commitment to flavor.
This is a dish of contrasts that somehow harmonize: the sweetness of tomatoes against the meatiness of eggplant, the sharpness of ricotta salata cutting through the richness, fresh basil lifting everything with its green perfume. Each element is simple. Together they create something greater than their parts.
The garlic here is a whisper. You crush the cloves, warm them in oil until they release their fragrance, then remove them. What remains is essence, not presence. Sicilian cooking, like all Italian regional cooking, shows restraint where it matters. The eggplant is the star. Give it the stage.
Pasta alla Norma takes its name from Vincenzo Bellini's 1831 opera, considered his masterpiece. The dish originated in Catania, Bellini's birthplace, where the Sicilian playwright Nino Martoglio supposedly exclaimed 'This is a Norma!' upon tasting it, the highest compliment he could imagine. Whether the story is true matters less than what it reveals: Catanians believe this dish worthy of their greatest composer.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
globe eggplants
Quantity
2 medium (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
kosher salt
Quantity
for salting eggplant and pasta water
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1 cup, plus more as needed for frying
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
peeled and lightly crushed
San Marzano tomatoes
Quantity
1 can (28 ounces)
crushed by hand
fresh basil leaves
Quantity
1 small handful, plus more for serving
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
rigatoni or penne rigate
Quantity
1 pound
ricotta salata
Quantity
4 ounces
grated or shaved
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| globe eggplants | 2 medium (about 1 1/2 pounds total) |
| kosher salt | for salting eggplant and pasta water |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1 cup, plus more as needed for frying |
| garlic clovespeeled and lightly crushed | 3 |
| San Marzano tomatoescrushed by hand | 1 can (28 ounces) |
| fresh basil leaves | 1 small handful, plus more for serving |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| rigatoni or penne rigate | 1 pound |
| ricotta salatagrated or shaved | 4 ounces |
Equipment Needed
- •Large (12-inch) skillet with high sides for frying
- •Colander for salting eggplant
- •Large pot for pasta
- •Box grater or microplane for ricotta salata
Instructions
- 1
Salt the eggplant
Slice the eggplants into rounds about half an inch thick. Layer them in a colander set over a bowl, salting each layer generously. Place a plate on top and weight it with something heavy, a can of tomatoes works well. Let stand for at least 30 minutes, preferably one hour. The eggplant will release bitter liquid and collapse slightly. This step is not optional.
Younger, smaller eggplants are less bitter and have fewer seeds. Choose specimens that feel heavy for their size, with taut, glossy skin. - 2
Prepare for frying
Rinse the eggplant slices briefly under cold water to remove excess salt. Pat them very dry with clean kitchen towels. Press firmly. Any moisture remaining on the surface will cause the oil to spatter and prevent proper browning. The slices should feel almost leathery.
- 3
Fry the eggplant
Pour olive oil into a large skillet to a depth of about one quarter inch. Heat over medium-high until the oil shimmers and a small piece of eggplant sizzles immediately when dropped in. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the eggplant slices until deep golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. The color should be the brown of well-toasted bread, not pale gold. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Add more oil between batches as needed.
Do not skimp on the oil or try to make this dish healthier by baking the eggplant. Fried eggplant is the soul of Norma. Without it, you have a different dish entirely. - 4
Make the tomato sauce
Pour off all but three tablespoons of oil from the skillet. Add the crushed garlic cloves and cook over medium heat until they turn pale gold and perfume the oil, about 2 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes carefully, as they will sputter. Season with salt and a few grindings of pepper. Let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and the raw tomato taste cooks away, about 20 minutes. Tear the basil leaves and stir them in during the last 5 minutes.
- 5
Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Salt it until it tastes like the sea. Add the rigatoni and cook, stirring occasionally, until it retains a firm core, about one minute less than the package suggests. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
- 6
Combine and serve
Cut the fried eggplant into rough strips or bite-sized pieces. Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Toss over medium heat for one minute, adding splashes of pasta water to help the sauce cling. Fold in most of the eggplant pieces, reserving some for the top. Divide among warm bowls. Top each serving with the reserved eggplant, a generous snowfall of grated ricotta salata, and fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately. Once the pasta is sauced, invite your guests to put off talking and start eating.
Chef Tips
- •Ricotta salata is not ricotta. It is salted, pressed, and aged for months until firm enough to grate. Regular ricotta will turn to mush on hot pasta. If you cannot find ricotta salata, aged pecorino is acceptable, though the flavor is different.
- •The eggplant must be fried in batches. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and causes steaming instead of frying. Patience here determines whether you achieve golden crispness or sad, greasy slices.
- •Rigatoni or penne rigate are traditional because their ridges and tubes catch the sauce and small pieces of eggplant. Spaghetti with Norma is a northern invention that misses the point.
- •Some Sicilian cooks add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce. I do not object to this, but I do not require it. The dish is complete without heat.
Advance Preparation
- •The eggplant can be salted and weighted up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator if your kitchen is warm.
- •The tomato sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently before combining with pasta.
- •Fried eggplant is best used within an hour. It loses its crispness as it sits. Do not attempt to fry it ahead and reheat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 550g)
Calories
910 calories
Total Fat
47 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
35 g
Cholesterol
20 mg
Sodium
1000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
103 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
22 g
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