Pasta Alla Norma
Updated May 30, 2023
Sabra Krock for The New York Times
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ pounds eggplant
Olive oil as needed (at least ½ cup)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 or 4 dried chiles
1 ½ pounds tomatoes, chopped (canned are fine; about 1 can)
1 teaspoon good dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon fresh
1 pound long pasta
½ cup chopped parsley or basil
½ cup grated ricotta salata (or in a pinch, pecorino Romano)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
70 grams carbs; 11 milligrams cholesterol; 418 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 8 grams fiber; 757 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 9 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Slice the eggplant about ½ inch thick. Cook in abundant olive oil, without crowding, sprinkling with salt and adding more oil as needed. You will undoubtedly have to cook in batches; take your time and cook until the eggplant is nicely browned and soft. Remove to a plate; do not drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water to boil and salt it.
- Step 2
At the end of the cooking the eggplant, the pan will ideally have a couple of tablespoons of oil left. If there’s more or less, drain some off or add a bit. Turn the heat to medium, add the garlic and chiles, and cook until the garlic colors a little bit. Add the tomatoes and oregano, along with some salt and pepper; cook until saucy but not too dry, stirring occasionally.
- Step 3
Cook the pasta until tender but not mushy. While it’s cooking, cut the eggplant into strips and reheat for a minute in the tomato sauce. Drain the pasta and toss it with the tomato sauce and the eggplant. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then top with the parsley or basil and grated cheese and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Cut unpeeled eggplant into 1" cubes. In baking dish, combine eggplant, olive oil, 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes, and sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, tossing occasionally. Eggplant will be custard-like.
For sauce: in skillet combine 3-4 tomatoes coarsely chopped, 2 tbs each of olive oil and tomato paste; and red pepper flakes and sea salt to taste. Simmer for 3/4 hours until it has a tomato jam-like consistency.
We use various cheeses: ricotta salata, Parmesan, or chevre.
This was delicious due in large part to some of the comments I read ahead of time. I, too, roasted the eggplant cubes that I'd tossed w/s+p for 25 minutes at 400. They came out perfect. For the sauce I used a large can of San Marzano tomatoes and 2 TBS tomato paste. I added red pepper flakes instead of the dried chiles. To my good fortune our local grocery had ricotta salata and that was a wonderful finishing touch. I will surely make this again with these modifications to the recipe.
1) Using Japanese eggplants (those with the purple, not green, calyx) will greatly improve the flavor: Japanese eggplants are much less bitter. 2) For pasta alla Norma, it is essential to shield as much as possible the cooked eggplant from the tomato sauce: for reasons that perhaps a chemist could explain, the tomato sauce destroys the flavor of eggplants. Therefore, do not reheat the eggplant in the tomato sauce. Toss the past in the tomato sauce, add basil and only then add the eggplants.
Excellent. A winner for eggplant lovers. Ricotta salata or Pecorino a must.
There are so many things missing or wrong in this recipe! After slicing the eggplants, put them under gros salt and pressure for 1 or two hours, then take salt off before frying them: they will absorb almost no oil while frying. Do not put salt in water s the eggplants will be a bit salty. Cheese should be dried salty ricotta. Do not reheat the eggplants in the sauce, mix them directly in the cooked pasta. Pasta should be short (rigatoni, penne...).
Definitely roast the eggplant in the oven! Also, I agree that the instructions are a little too unspecified for the non-professional. What kind of chiles are we supposed to use? I had some dried guajillo chiles - they are pretty big! And we are supposed to use 3 of them? I cut one up and put it in. I also used a large can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes. Again, wasn't sure. So, thanks for all the comments. I have learned to go directly to them before making any recipe.