Pasta alla Norma – Sicilian Eggplant Pasta

Pasta alla Norma is a classic Italian pasta dish that combines tender fried eggplant with a rich tomato sauce. This Sicilian eggplant pasta is a typical summer dish made with humble ingredients yet is bursting with bold Italian flavors. It’s easy to make for a light weeknight dinner and delicious enough to impress friends at your next Italian cookout.

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What is Pasta alla Norma?

Most people call Pasta alla Norma simply ‘pasta with eggplant’, or ‘aubergine pasta’, depending where you’re from. But eggplant isn’t the only key ingredient in Pasta alla Norma as many believe. Tomatoes, fresh basil and ricotta salata are equally important to make this classic Sicilian pasta dish. This pasta is especially popular in summer, when eggplants are in season and full of flavor.

Why the name Norma? Well, Pasta alla Norma originates from Catania, a city on the east coast of Sicily. It’s commonly believed that Nino Martoglio, a poet from Catania was so impressed with this pasta dish that he said ‘Chista è ‘na vera Norma!‘ or ‘This is a true Norma’, referring to the famous opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. This was late 19th century, meaning that the Norma pasta is a real timeless pasta dish.

And if you love other classic Italian pasta dishes like Pasta Portofino or Pasta alla Peperonata you’re definitely going to love this recipe.

Why ricotta salata?

Ricotta salata is an essential ingredient for making Pasta alla Norma as it adds a salty and slightly tangy flavor that balances with the sweetness of the tomato and the creaminess of the fried eggplant.

Unlike the most common fresh ricotta, ricotta salata is rather a firm, salted and aged cheese that should be grated on top of the pasta. It’s the ricotta salata together with the other ingredients that will give this pasta dish its authentic Sicilian taste.

Ricotta salata can usually be found at Italian delis, specialty cheese shops or gourmet grocery stores. If you can’t find ricotta salata, you can use Pecorino Romano, which has a similar salty taste but it’s more intense in flavor. Another option is Parmigiano Reggiano, again not the same, but the saltiness comes close. Other substitutes are Greek feta and Greek Mizithra cheese.

What you cannot use is the creamy ricotta version as it’s too soft and creamy and lacks the salty flavor.

Pasta alla Norma ingredients

• Pasta: Traditionally, pasta alla Norma is made with short pasta shapes like rigatoni, maccheroni or penne as they hold the chunky vegetable sauce well. I have used rigatoni in this recipe, but feel free to use any other short pasta shape and even long pasta like spaghetti if that’s what you have on hand.
• Eggplant: Use firm, fresh eggplants (or aubergines) with shiny and unbruised skin for the best texture and flavor.
• Tomatoes: Use good quality canned tomatoes, either chopped or crushed for a rich sauce. Even tomato passata will work to make the tomato base for sauce.
• Garlic: A few fresh garlic cloves will add depth of flavor to the sauce. Aways use fresh cloves rather than garlic powder for the best taste.
• Olive oil: You’ll need cooking oil for frying the eggplant, which can be regular olive oil, extra virgin olive oil or any neutral cooking oil you have on hand. For making the sauce, use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor. I personally use extra virgin olive oil for both because it gives the most authentic taste typical of Italian cooking.
• Basil: Fresh basil is a key ingredient. Don’t substitute with dried basil.
• Cheese: I have used Pecorino Romano in this recipe even though it calls for ricotta salata.
• Seasoning: Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.

How to make Pasta alla Norma

Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

There are various way to make this Italian eggplant pasta. For example, the eggplant can either be deep-fried, shallow-fried or roasted in the oven, depending on your personal preference. Since eggplant acts like a sponge, it soaks up the oil when frying, which is why many people prefer roasting it instead.

That said, I like the eggplant chunks partly fried in good quality olive oil, so in this recipe I shallow fry them in a little oil and they come out beautifully tender and flavorful.

Salt the eggplant or not?

Traditionally, eggplants were salted to remove their bitterness but modern varieties are rarely bitter. However, salting still helps draw out excess moisture allowing them to crisp up better when frying. To do this, cut the eggplant into pieces, sprinkle generously with salt and place them in a colander for 20 minutes. Use a paper towel to wipe the eggplant dry and remove excess salt.

If you don’t have a lot of time you can skip this step and follow the recipe as described.

Prepare the eggplant

• Cut the eggplant: Cut the eggplant into small cubes (¾-inch or 2 cm) or thin strips. There’s no need to peel the eggplant, but feel free to do so if you prefer.
• Shallow-fry the eggplant: Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant in batches, making sure they are in a single layer and not overcrowded. This helps the eggplant become golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside, because if the pan is too full, they won’t crisp properly. Add fresh oil with each batch. Fry the eggplant cubes for 5–7 minutes until tender and golden.
• Put on a plate: Once fried, transfer the eggplant to a plate lined with kitchen paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

TIP: You’ll notice the eggplant immediately soaks up the oil, that’s perfectly normal. Don’t add extra oil, it will fry just fine as is.

Cook the pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Wait to start boiling the pasta until the sauce is ready to simmer, so it finishes cooking just as the sauce is done and can be transferred directly into the sauce.

Make the pasta sauce

• Make the tomato sauce: In a large pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Increase the heat to medium, add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and some basil leaves. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat again to low and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

• Cook the pasta: When the sauce has been simmering for about 10 minutes, cook the pasta so it’s ready at the same time as the sauce.
• Add the eggplant and basil: When the sauce is nearly done, stir 3/4 of the eggplant into the tomato sauce. Reserve the rest for garnish along with the rest of the basil leaves.

• Add the pasta: Once the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta directly into the sauce. Add about 2 tablespoons of pasta water and toss to coat.
• Serve: Serve immediately topped with the rest of the fried eggplant, grated Pecorino Romano and fresh basil leaves.

How to serve eggplant pasta

Even though pasta isn’t traditionally served as a main course on its own in Italy, unlike in many other countries, Pasta alla Norma definitely works well as a main meal. You can always add a side dish or salad to make it more complete.

If you want to add a side dish, any of these recipes will work:

• Sautéed radish greens
• Peperonata or Italian stewed peppers
• Shaved fennel salad with honey mustard dressing
• Italian green beans with garlic and onion

More eggplant recipes to enjoy

• Eggplant soup with roasted chickpeas
• French ratatouille
• Baba ganoush or roasted eggplant dip