Pasta Alla Norma

Last Updated on February 8, 2019

Pasta Alla Norma – Sicily on a Plate:

Perhaps this recipe would be better called Spaghetti alla Norma, since that’s the pasta I used.  But, this is a classic Sicilian dish with a story.  One of the most famous people from Sicily, Vincenzo Bellini was a great composer, particularly of Bel Canto Opera.  A signature dish of Sicily, Pasta alla Norma was named after one of the Composer’s most famous works, the opera Norma. There are two versions of the story about how the dish was named – the first accredits the title to a Sicilian writer,  Nino Martoglio, contemporary to Bellini who is claimed to have said that the dish was ‘a Norma’ meaning that it was as perfect as the opera.  The second claims that Bellini himself used to enjoy the dish regularly and that the owner of the restaurant where he dined named the dish in his honour.  Of course, the real truth is immaterial – at least for me – it’s the recipe for Pasta alla Norma itself which matters.

5 from 3 votes

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Pasta Alla Norma

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

A delicious classic pasta dish from Sicily with aubergine or eggplant and tomato.  Simple Vegetarian food that is full of flavour and very comforting. Pasta alla Norma or Spaghetti alla Norma

Course: Lunch, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: aubergine, eggplant, pasta, tomato

Servings: 2

Calories: 350 kcal

Author: Carla Zanardi

Ingredients

• 100-150 g Spaghetti We used fresh Caserecce in Sicily. If I'd been able to find the right flour I might have made some.
• 1 Aubergine or Eggplant
• 300 g Passata
• 1 tablespoon Sundried Tomato Paste thinned in a little water
• 2 cloves Garlic chopped and crushed in a little salt
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 handfuls Fresh Basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons Salted Ricotta Grated finely

Instructions

1. Slice the aubergine into thin rounds about 1/4cm thick.

2. Fry the aubergine or eggplant in olive oil, if necessary in batches, till fully cooked and slightly caramelised, then cut into thin matchstick slices

3. Heat the crushed garlic in a little oil in another pan for a couple of minutes
4. Add the passata and tomato paste and reduce down by about a third before adding the basil. Cook for five more minutes before stirring through the aubergine and heating through gently. Add salt and pepper to taste

5. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta as directed on the packet.

6. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Mix thoroughly in the pan
7. Serve, topped with grated ricotta

Nutrition Facts

Pasta Alla Norma

Amount Per Serving

Calories 350

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

As with many of the dishes we learnt to cook in Sicily, spaghetti alla Norma is a simple dish and depends on good quality tomatoes and olive oil for its success.  It’s vegetarian and could easily be adapted to be vegan by using a vegan cheese substitute.   The tomatoes we grow in the UK are unlikely to ever have the depth of flavour this dish needs and so it is probably better to use a shop bought passata, perhaps enhanced with a little sun-dried tomato paste than to try making your own fresh puree.  But, when we were in Sicily, the lovely Carla showed us how to make passata by just softening tomato halves in a pan on the hob and then passing the entire mixture through a special sieve a bit like a mouli.

We used round, violet coloured aubergines (eggplants) too, which I am sure I’ve seen in some of the Asian supermarkets here, but which are not the sort you normally find in Waitrose or Tesco.  I don’t think they tasted any different though, or at least, my own version using the ones I could buy from Waitrose seemed to work just as well.

I left Sicily with a small tub of sun-dried tomato paste which I am adding to shop bought passata.  This is traditionally made in Sicily by taking homemade passata salting it and spreading it out in a thin layer over shallow bowls.  The bowls are set in the sun for anything from a few hours to a few days, depending on the weather, stirring every half hour or so, then the thick dark red paste is packaged up to be used through the winter.  So, my Pasta alla Norma had a real taste of Sicily thanks to a teaspoon of this mixture stirred in a little water and added to the shop bought passata.  I also have some salted ricotta, a firm white cheese that can be grated and which is traditionally used on Pasta Norma.  It’s a strongish, salty tasting cheese, rather more crumbly and softer than parmesan.   If you can’t get it, I’d suggest using crumbled feta or a hard goats cheese.

I hope you enjoy this simple but very special recipe as much as me.  It really does bring back the taste of Sicily for me.

Thinking of making it yourself?  Why not pin this post for later

Meanwhile here’s a delicious recipe for Greek Lamb Casserole with Feta, Olives and Orso