Pasta alla Norma brings Sicilian flavors together in a simple dish: tomato sauce with garlic, golden-fried eggplant, basil, and salty ricotta salata. Fry the eggplant separately so it browns and remains a firm contrast to the sauce.
Pasta alla Norma is a well-known Sicilian combination of pasta, tomato, eggplant, basil, and ricotta salata. The dish is often associated with Catania, but for a good homemade version, the key is the combination: a soft, slightly tangy tomato sauce against golden-fried eggplant and a salty, grated cheese. Rigatoni catches the sauce in its hollow center and ridges; penne or another short pasta works too.
Eggplant is mainly available locally in the Netherlands during the warmer months, but it can be found year-round. Choose eggplants that feel firm and have smooth, glossy skin. Cut them into slices about one centimeter thick so they brown while frying without immediately falling apart. Frying them in a generous pan with a shallow layer of hot oil gives them more color than simmering them together with the tomatoes. Fry in batches: an overcrowded pan cools down, causing the slices to absorb oil and turn soft rather than golden brown.
The sauce doesn’t need to be complicated. Letting garlic gently release its aroma in olive oil and slowly reducing the tomatoes makes a rich base without masking the eggplant’s own flavor. You can crush whole canned tomatoes with a spoon; passata makes a smoother sauce and often needs slightly less time to reduce. Taste before serving: tomatoes vary in acidity, so a pinch of salt and enough cooking time matter more than extra herbs. A little chili flake is an option, but it isn’t needed for balance.
Ricotta salata is salted, aged ricotta and behaves differently from fresh ricotta: you grate it over the pasta, where it adds a dry, salty note. You can find it at Italian delicatessens and some supermarkets. If you can’t find it, a little grated pecorino is a good, though sharper, substitute; just don’t expect the flavor to be identical. Add the cheese at the table so everyone can decide how much saltiness the dish needs.
Toss the pasta with some of its cooking water through the sauce and arrange the fried eggplant on top, so some of it stays crisp. Basil freshens everything up; tear the leaves just before serving to preserve their aroma. Serve as a main course, with a simple green salad if you like. Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated within two hours, and used within two days. Reheat them thoroughly in a pan with a splash of water; the eggplant will be softer than when freshly fried.
Cut the eggplants into slices about 1 cm thick. Heat the 300 ml olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the slices in batches, about 3–4 minutes per side, until golden brown and tender. Transfer to paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute without letting it brown. Add the tomatoes and salt, and crush the tomatoes into smaller pieces with a spoon.
Simmer the sauce uncovered for 18–20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Season with black pepper.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni according to the package directions until al dente. Before draining, scoop out a cup of pasta water.
Add the rigatoni to the tomato sauce and toss. Add a splash of pasta water if needed so the sauce coats the pasta well.
Tear the basil into pieces. Toss most of it and about two-thirds of the eggplant through the pasta. Divide among plates and finish with the remaining eggplant, the ricotta salata, and the rest of the basil.
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