From a Pot: Pasta Alla Norma (Sicilian Eggplant Pasta)
Delicious Sicilian pasta with fried eggplant and tomato sauce.
Last year we took a road trip around Sicily for about two weeks and now Sicily is one of my favorite places. :) It’s so pretty, all the history, small shops, coffee, sea, cocktails in the evenings after dinner and don’t even get me started on all the food that I had. Like all the pistacia croissants and all the pasta, so much pasta. :) Pasta alla norma was one of my favorite foods to eat, and I don’t even know why it took me so long to write a recipe for it.
Pasta alla norma is a traditional pasta dish with eggplant that you have to try if you’re ever in Sicily. It’s made with fried eggplant tossed with tomato sauce and then topped with some pangrattato, which is just a fancy name for breadcrumbs that have been seasoned and toasted to bring some crunch to the dish.
This dish is so simple to make with the ingredients that you probably already have at home.
Prep Time
Prep Time:
10 MinutesCook Time:
20 MinutesTotal Time:
30 MinutesEquipment
- Pot
- Sauce pan
- Cutting board
Nutritional values
Shopping List
- Eggplant: 1.0
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Tomato: 4.0
- Garlic: 1.0
- Onion: 1.0
- Pepper
- Chilli flecks
- Origano
- Basil
- Bread crumbs
Ingredients and Instructions
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta
Eggplant
Eggplant: 1
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: 0.5 tsp
Tomato sauce
Tomato: 4
Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 1
Onion: 1
Salt: 2 tsp
Pepper: 0.3 tsp
Chilli flecks: 0.2 tsp
Origano: 0.5 tsp
Basil: 1 tbsp
Pangrattato
Bread crumbs: 3 tbsp
Olive oil: 1 tsp
Salt: 0.3 tsp
Pepper: 0.2 tsp
Instructions
Pasta alla Norma
Ingredients
Pasta
- In boiling salted water, cook the pasta.
Eggplant
Ingredients
Eggplant: 1
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: 0.5 tsp
- Wash the eggplant and cut it into pieces. Salt them on both sides.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and sauté the eggplants on high heat until golden brown. About 5 minutes.
- Remove them from the pan on a paper towel to soak in the extra oil. Set aside for now.
Tomato sauce
Ingredients
Tomato: 4
Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 1
Onion: 1
Salt: 2 tsp
Pepper: 0.3 tsp
Chilli flecks: 0.2 tsp
Origano: 0.5 tsp
Basil: 1 tbsp
- Cut the onions into small pieces. Great one small garlic clove. Cut 4 big tomatoes into pieces.
- Add more olive oil to the same pan that we fried the eggplant in. Heat the oil and sauté the onions with some chilli flakes and minced garlic. Sauté for about a minute then add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Add some pasta water if needed. Also, add a teaspoon of sugar if needed. It depends on how sweet your tomatoes are. Taste as you go.
- When the sauce is done, add in the eggplants and pasta. Mix it together and top with oregano and breadcrumbs (pangrattato).
Pangrattato
Ingredients
Bread crumbs: 3 tbsp
Olive oil: 1 tsp
Salt: 0.3 tsp
Pepper: 0.2 tsp
- Heat the oil in a pan and add in the breadcrumbs with seasoning. Toast it in the pan for about 3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve on top of the pasta.
Gallery:
Notes:
- Can I use cheese instead of breadcrumbs as a topping?
- Yes. :) In Sicily I always have this dish served with pangrattato, but you can, of course, serve it with cheese.
- What kind of pasta do I use?
- Traditionally they used rigatoni, but you can use whatever pasta you like.
Fun Facts:
- Pasta Alla Norma is thought to have originated in Catania, the hometown of Vincenzo Bellini, the famous Italian composer. Vincenzo’s most famous opera in the 1800s was called Norma after its lead character. The opera was considered a masterpiece. The story goes that Nino Martogoli, a famous playwright from Catania, after tasting the dish, exclaimed “Chiesta è na vera Norma”, meaning “This is a real Norma”. Comparing it to a famous opera.
Receive
updates: