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Italian Recipe

Pasta alla Norma

Catania’s tribute to Bellini: fried eggplant, tomato, basil, and a blizzard of ricotta salata over pasta. An opera in four ingredients.

Catania’s tribute to Bellini: fried eggplant, tomato, basil, and a blizzard of ricotta salata over pasta. An opera in four ingredients.

40 min Prep Time
35 min Cook Time
4 Servings
easy

Instructions

  1. Salt the eggplant in a colander 30 minutes, then rinse briefly and dry completely.

    35 min

  2. Make the sauce: warm the olive oil with the garlic, add tomatoes crushed by hand, salt, and simmer 20 minutes; finish with torn basil and remove the garlic.

    22 min

  3. Fry the eggplant in 170 C oil in batches until deep bronze on both faces; drain on a rack and salt faintly.

    15 min

  4. Boil the pasta in well-salted water to one minute shy of al dente.

    9 min

  5. Toss the pasta in the sauce with a splash of its water for a glossy coat, then fold in half the eggplant gently, off the heat.

    3 min

  6. Plate, shingle the remaining eggplant on top, and snow over the ricotta salata with a basil leaf on each plate. Sing if moved.

Chef's Tips

  • Ricotta salata or it is not Norma: Fresh ricotta melts into mildness; parmesan changes the key. The pressed salted version is the dish’s entire top note and worth the search.
  • Fry like a catanese: The eggplant must go into properly hot oil and come out bronzed, not blond. Pale eggplant drinks oil; dark eggplant owns it.
  • Summer shortcut with honor: cherry tomatoes blistered in the garlic oil instead of the simmered sauce, everything else unchanged.

Nutrition Facts

Calories
831.62
Protein
22.06g
Carbohydrates
93.86g
Fat
41.69g
Fiber
10.73g

Per serving

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