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    Pasta · Recipe · Sicily · Reference page

    Pasta alla Norma

    pasta alla Norma

    Short pasta in a slow tomato sauce with chunks of roasted aubergine, finished with basil and plenty of grated ricotta salata. A Sicilian dish from Catania; this version for four is Silvia Colloca's for SBS.

    Penne alla Norma with tomato sauce, roasted aubergine, grated ricotta salata and basil in a white bowl.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    10 min
    Cooking
    50 min
    Total
    1 h
    Difficulty
    Easy

    Equipment

    • Baking tray lined with baking paper
    • Large heavy-based frying pan with a lid
    • Large saucepan; slotted spoon
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    • Aubergine

    • Sauce

    • To finish

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Heat the oven to 200 °C and line a tray with baking paper. Toss the aubergine with 50 ml oil, salt and pepper and roast for 35–40 minutes, until golden and tender.

      Timer · 40 min40:00

    2. Meanwhile warm the remaining oil in the frying pan over medium heat, add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.

    3. Add the tomatoes and 200 ml water; swirl another half can of water round the tin and add it. Season, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently on low for 30–40 minutes, until slightly reduced.

      Timer · 35 min35:00

    4. Stir the roasted aubergine gently into the sauce.

    5. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until almost al dente, about 1 minute less than the packet says.

    6. Lift the pasta straight into the sauce with a slotted spoon, bringing a little cooking water with it, and toss well. Serve topped with basil and plenty of ricotta salata.

      Why The starchy water helps the sauce cling; the salty cheese is the only dairy in the dish.

    To drink & serve with

    • Etna

      Editorial suggestion: an Etna Rosso from the slopes above Catania.

    Substitutions

    • Ricotta salata → Do not use fresh ricotta. Chef Luca Melis suggests the Messina way: fresh ricotta salted and dried in the oven at about 60 °C for 1 to 1½ hours.
    • Roasted aubergine → Many Sicilian cooks fry it; Melis salts raw aubergine for 30 minutes, rinses and dries it first.

    Common mistakes

    • Using large, seedy aubergines: Melis prefers small, thin-skinned ones, which are less bitter.
    • Adding butter or other cheeses: only ricotta salata goes on top.

    Storage & reheating

    Cool the sauce within 2 hours; it keeps 2 days in the fridge (UK FSA; USDA allows 3–4 days). Combine with freshly cooked pasta.

    Safety

    Contains gluten (pasta) and milk (ricotta salata). Traditional ricotta salata is made with animal rennet in some cases; vegetarians should check the label.

    Allergens

    Gluten · Milk

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Dietary

    vegetarian

    Named after an opera

    The dish is said to take its name from Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma, first performed in 1831. The usual legend, repeated by SBS, has the Sicilian writer Nino Martoglio tasting the aubergine pasta and declaring it a real "Norma", a masterpiece. It is a story, not a documented event.

    The cheese marks the place: Catania grates salted ricotta over the pasta, while in Messina baked ricotta is used, according to chef Luca Melis.

    [1]

    Sweet sauce, deep aubergine, salty cheese

    Silvia Colloca roasts the aubergine instead of frying it and simmers the tomato for half an hour with water so that it turns sweet and slightly thick. The pasta finishes in the pan, carried there with a little of its water, and the ricotta salata goes on at the end, never stirred in.

    [2][1]

    How it connects

    Place

    • origin Sicily In preparation

    Pasta shape

    Wine region

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