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PASTA ALLA NORMA

4.0
(1)
1 Review

This simple pasta dish celebrates summer produce and Italian pasta traditions
with fresh tomato sauce, fried eggplant, sweet onions and aromatic basil,
yielding a bowl that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

By
Jennifer V. Cole
Jennifer V. Cole
 * 

Jennifer V. Cole is a freelance writer, editor, and culinary travel consultant
based in Sicily, Italy. She served as the deputy editor at Southern Living for
nearly a decade and co-authored Chasing the Gator (2018) with chef Isaac Toups,
which was nominated for an IACP Julia Child First Book Award in 2019. 

Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines
Updated on August 2, 2023
Tested by
Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary
professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home
cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our
expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and
ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and
works for cooks at home every single time.
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Photo: Justin Walker
Active Time:
50 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 15 mins
Servings:
8

I grew up at the knees of some of the South's great biscuit makers, but a
Sicilian taught me how to cook. My senior year at Auburn University, serendipity
introduced me to Flavia Mammana, a visiting mathematics scholar from Catania who
was working on her doctorate. After a quick introduction over coffee, we decided
to live together and signed a lease on a house. Flavia took it upon herself to
take care of me, so, as any Sicilian would, she fed me. Constantly. She made
pastas, cakes, breads, meatballs, and vegetables lovingly tended over the
rental-house stove. But it was her pasta alla Norma, topped with a snowfall of
grated ricotta salata she smuggled into the U.S. from Italy, that spoke to my
increasingly pudgy little heart.



This pasta is the dish of Catania, hometown of Vincenzo Bellini, and is said to
take its name from the heroine of one of his most famous operas. The story goes
that after seeing Norma performed, friends of the composer were so awestruck
they went around describing everything they deemed outstanding as "una vera
Norma" ("a real Norma").



The dish is simple: pasta—often penne, sometimes spaghetti—with tomato sauce;
silken nuggets of fried eggplant; aromatic basil; and salted ricotta. But, as
with all great dishes, the result is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Norma is the kiss of Sicilian summer. It's a composition that sings of
seasonality, when tomatoes and eggplant are at their peak and balconies are
overrun with potted basil.



To call pasta alla Norma my obsession would be an understatement. If it's on a
menu, I compulsively order it. Through the years, with many, many return trips
to this sun-drenched island off the tip of Italy's boot, I've eaten it baked as
a casserole, prepared with wide planks of eggplant, in a timbale, deconstructed
with modernist flair, and even as arancini. But this version—inspired by
Flavia's mom's recipe, remains dearest to my heart.




INGREDIENTS

 * 6 ½ pounds (32 total) plum or Roma tomatoes, quartered

 * 1 pound small sweet onions (such as cipollini), cut into 2-inch pieces (about
   3 cups)

 * 1 tablespoon fine sea salt

 * ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

 * 2 ½ cups corn oil

 * 4 pounds eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 20 cups)

 * 2 teaspoons fine non-iodized salt, divided

 * 2 pounds uncooked penne rigate

 * 1 ½ ounces ricotta salata cheese, grated with a Microplane grater (about 1
   cup)


DIRECTIONS

 1. Combine tomatoes and onions in a large stockpot over medium. Cook, stirring
    constantly, until tomatoes begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.
    Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are fully broken down
    and very soft, about 30 minutes.
    
    

 2. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes and onions to a large
    heatproof bowl; reserve liquid in pot. Place a food mill over stockpot. Pass
    tomatoes and onions through food mill into stockpot, discarding tomato skins
    and other solids. Stir in fine sea salt, and reduce heat to medium-low.
    Cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and
    reduced to 7 cups, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir in basil leaves; cook 5
    more minutes. Remove from heat, and cover to keep warm.
    
    

 3. While tomato sauce cooks, heat corn oil in a high-sided skillet or large
    Dutch oven over medium-high, about 5 minutes. Add 3 to 4 cups eggplant to
    skillet in a single layer. (Eggplant should be almost fully submerged in
    oil.) Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon non-iodized salt. Fry, stirring occasionally,
    until eggplant cubes are golden brown and soft to the touch with a crispy
    exterior, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer
    eggplant to a large plate to drain; reserve drained oil. Repeat with a
    second batch of eggplant and 1/2 teaspoon non-iodized salt. Repeat with a
    third batch of eggplant and 1/4 teaspoon non-iodized salt. Fry remaining
    eggplant, in batches if needed, adding 1/8 teaspoon non-iodized salt to each
    batch.
    
    

 4. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions
    for al dente. Drain. Add pasta to tomato sauce, and stir to coat. Fold in
    fried eggplant and drained oil.
    
    

 5. To serve, transfer pasta to a rimmed platter or large shallow bowl. Top with
    ricotta salata, and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
    
    


MAKE AHEAD

The tomato sauce can be cooked up to 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and
chill. Reheat before proceeding.

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REVIEWS (1)

What do you think of this recipe? Share your experience to help others.

Add Rating & Review
Food & Wine Member

03/10/2022

I really enjoyed watching you cook, why don't you post this video on Khal
website, I'm sure you'll get a lot of love on that site!

Read More


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