Two choices make this version: the eggplant is fried until bronze, not blond, and the pasta is finished with ricotta salata, never fresh ricotta or parmesan. Half the eggplant is folded through the sauced pasta off the heat and half is laid on top, so you get silk inside and a little crispness on the plate.
Make ahead The tomato sauce keeps two days in the fridge; fry the eggplant on the day you serve.
Pasta alla Norma
Prep 40 min · Cook 35 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty Easy
Method
Salt the eggplant in a colander 30 minutes, then rinse briefly and dry completely.
35 min
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
Fry the eggplant in 170 C oil in batches until deep bronze on both faces; drain on a rack and salt faintly.
15 min
Boil the pasta in well-salted water to one minute shy of al dente.
9 min
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
Plate, shingle the remaining eggplant on top, and snow over the ricotta salata with a basil leaf on each plate. Sing if moved.
Kitchen notes
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.
Choose short pasta. Short pasta such as rigatoni or maccheroni carries the sauce and eggplant well. Use the shape listed in this recipe.
