Pasta alla norma is a pasta that you will see on almost every menu in Sicily. It is a delightful dish with crisp fried eggplant and spicy marinara sauce, served over pasta. In our case, I used spaghetti, but it can be served over everything from rigatoni to penne. This is a classic Italian recipe that we often see in restaurants, but never remember to make at home.
When we look at certain Italian dishes, they have to stay true to tradition. What I like about cooking eggplant this way is it maintains its shape. For this particular dish, I don't like when eggplants are torn apart and mush. Some simple eggplant dishes are served that way, which can be great for adding a creamy texture but doesn't exactly work in pasta alla norma.
One item I love at Trader Joe's that I will occasionally use to cook pasta is their marinated eggplant and onion. It comes in a little purple can and it comes in hand when I need to get dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Definitely try out their marinated eggplant or my Simple Pasta with Eggplant and Tomatoes or Garlicky Cauliflower Pasta if you're looking to get a vegetable-based dinner on the table really quickly!
Ingredients for Pasta Alla Norma
- 1 eggplant, sliced in ½ inch slices
- 1 28 oz can peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for eggplant
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 4-5 basil leaves
- ¼ cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- ricotta salata or grana padano for garnish
- 1 lb spaghetti
Substitutions
When it comes to substitutions, there are a few things we should discuss with this recipe.
- Whole tomatoes: don't substitute crushed tomatoes unless you don't have whole. You want there to be some texture in this dish, and crushed tomatoes are too crushed for this.
- High-quality extra virgin olive oil. The eggplant is going to suck up that olive oil. If you don't use high-quality olive oil, you're going to taste a lot of the crap you put in.
- Ricotta salata is normally a pretty funky cheese but not so much here in America. So, I suggest using whatever cheese you like. I use grana padano in these images.
How to make Pasta Alla Norma
This is an easy recipe. Like most Italian recipes, the simple, high-quality ingredients and careful following of the steps are what make this dish so great.
Slicing and preparing the eggplant
Start by slicing the eggplant into ½-inch slices. Lay them out on a flat surface and salt both sides of them. Wait 20 minutes and then pat them dry with a paper towel to remove all water. Eggplants are filled with water. If you skip this step, it'll be harder to get the eggplant to come out golden brown when frying them. It will also cause them to steam while cooking them.
Frying the eggplant
Add olive oil to a large saucepan and heat to medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the whole slices of eggplant or cut into half moons. I do a combination for a little pageantry of the dish. Fry in batches in order to not overcrowd the pan.
Fry until both sides are golden brown about 3-4 minutes per side. You may need to add extra olive oil because the eggplants tend to suck up a lot of oil. This is why high-quality olive oil is so important. Most of what you're tasting in this dish is the olive oil. If you use low-quality, it will taste low quality. The same goes for wine while we're on the subject.
Cooking the sauce
Set the eggplant aside. If there is more oil left in the pan we can move on, if not, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Lower the heat, to medium-low. Add garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper and saute for 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook for 30 more seconds until the tomato paste is lightly caramelized and then add the peeled tomatoes. Gently break apart the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add in the basil and salt then simmer for 15 minutes.
Combining the pasta
In a pot, bring water to a boil, add salt, and then cook the pasta as directed on the bag to al dente. Strain the pasta, add it to the sauce, and combine while hot. You may add about ¼ cup of starchy pasta water to the sauce to help it combine with the pasta. Then add the eggplant back in and stir together. Serve with your choice of cheese, but traditionally, ricotta salata.
How to reheat Pasta alla Norma
Like most pasta, it is better to reheat it in a pan with a little extra olive oil.
Eggplant is a top vegetable. The only one I place above it is broccoli rabe. There are so many ways to cook with it. Pasta alla norma is one of my favorite types of pasta. If you enjoy this recipe, please leave a rating below!
You can follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or on Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch. Thank you so much for reading and making our recipe!
Here are some other meatless pasta you may enjoy!
Pasta Primavera with Broccoli and Asparagus
📖 Recipe
Pasta alla Norma
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 4-6 qt pot
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, sliced in ½ inch slices
- 1 28 oz can peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for eggplant
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4-5 basil leaves
- ¼ cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- ricotta salata or grana padano for garnish
- 1 lb spaghetti
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into ½-inch slices. Lay them out on a flat surface and salt both sides of them. Wait 20 minutes and then pat them dry with a paper towel to remove all water.
- Add olive oil to a large saucepan and heat to medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the whole slices of eggplant or cut into half moons. Fry until both sides are golden brown about 3-4 minutes per side. You may need to add extra olive oil because the eggplants tend to suck up a lot of oil.
- Set the eggplant aside. If there is more oil left in the pan we can move on, if not, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper and saute for 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook for 30 more seconds and then add the peeled tomatoes. Gently break apart the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add in the basil and salt then simmer for 15 minutes.
- In a pot, bring water to a boil, add salt, and then cook the pasta as directed on the bag to al dente. Strain the pasta, add it to the sauce, and combine while hot. Then add the eggplant back in and stir together. Serve with ricotta salata.
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