Pasta alla Norma
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 357kcal
This Pasta alla Norma is a classic Italian dish that is just perfect in every way. Ricotta salata is the cheese typically used in this dish, but if you can't find it, you can use mild feta in its place. Rigatoni is traditional, but any type of pasta will work.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplant or 1 large, you want about 1½ lbs
- Kosher salt plus more to taste
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand, with juices
- 1 lb pasta rigatoni, or whatever is your preference
- ½ cup ricotta salata crumbled, plus more for garnish, see NOTES
- ½ cup pecorino-romano cheese grated, or Parmesan
- ½ cup basil fresh, roughly chopped, plus a few small leaves for garnish
- ½ black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Cut the ends of the eggplant and then cut in half, lengthwise. Cut again (lengthwise) if a large eggplant. Slice into pieces no large than a piece of rigatoni.
- Place the eggplant in a colander that has been placed in a large bowl or your sink. Liberally sprinkle salt all over the eggplant piece and let them rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse thoroughly with water to remove the salt. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and immediately add the onion to the skillet and saute until tender, about 4½ minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes (crushed by hand) and the juices. Season with 2 tsp of salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Bring the tomatoes to a low simmer and cook until the pasta has reached al dente.
- Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large pasta bowl or platter. Pour the tomato sauce over the pasta and stir to fully coat. Stir in ⅔ of the eggplant, all of the grated pecorino-romano (or parmesan), half of the ricotta selata, and the basil (leave a little for garnish). Gently stir until well combined.
- Alternatively, leave the sauce in the skillet and add the pasta along with the other ingredients (as described in the previous step). Stir until fully combined.
- Serve at once. Garnish with the remaining ricotta selata, eggplant, and basil on top.
Notes
See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you like the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Make sure to cut the eggplant into bite-sized pieces. Small or medium-sized eggplant makes this easier, but you can certainly do this with the more common large eggplant. You'll need to cut the vegetable into long pieces before slicing it into smaller semi-circles.
Ricotta selata is hard to find in North America, however, you can find it in many gourmet food stores or specialty cheese shops. If you can't get your hands on ricotta selata, no problem at all. Substitute feta cheese. Or, add a few dollops of creamy ricotta on top of the dish.
Rigatoni pasta is traditional, but any type of pasta will work.
Leftover will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. The pasta reheats beautifully and is so delicious as leftovers. You can freeze it as well, although the pasta will lose its fresh taste once thawed and heated.
Nutrition
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 202IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 1mg