Sicilia · Catania
Pasta alla Norma
Catanese pasta with fried aubergine and ricotta salata
Fried aubergine, tomato and basil, finished with plenty of ricotta salata — named after the opera by Catania's Vincenzo Bellini.
- Course
- Primo piattoPasta & rice
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- 8 min
- Cooking
- 48 min
- Resting
- 30 min+
La provenienza
Where this recipe comes from
The best-known story is that the Catanese writer Nino Martoglio, tasting this pasta at lunch, exclaimed that it was ‘a Norma’ — a masterpiece, like Bellini's opera. The dish belongs to Catania, where aubergines grow in the volcanic soil of Etna, though Messina also claims it.
There is no official recipe; Sicilian sources agree on the essentials — tomato, fried aubergine, fresh basil and ricotta salata, a sheep's milk ricotta salted and aged from one week to a month. In Catania the aubergines are the Violetta and the tomatoes the ribbed Costoluto.
- Provenance
- Documented traditionA regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.
- Defined by
- Catanese tradition
- Reference
- Named after Bellini's opera ‘Norma’
Ingredienti
Ingredients
Equipment
- Colander and a weight, for salting the aubergines
- Deep frying pan, a frying thermometer and a slotted spoon
- Saucepan for the tomato sauce
- Large pot for the pasta, and a fine grater for the ricotta salata
Preparazione
Method
About 1¼ hours, including up to an hour for salting the aubergines if they are bitter. The tomato sauce cooks while you fry.
- 8 minhands-on
- 48 mincooking
- 30 minresting, at least
The aubergines
-
Rest 30 min – 1 h
Cut the aubergines into slices about 1 cm thick (or 2 cm cubes). If they are large or seedy, layer them in the colander with about 10 g of salt, put a plate and a weight on top, and leave them for 30–60 minutes.
Tip Young, firm Violetta aubergines are rarely bitter and can skip the salting.
-
Hands-on 5 min
Press out the liquid and pat the aubergines completely dry with kitchen paper.
Tip Wet aubergines spit in the oil and soak it up.
-
Cooking 8 minTemp 170 °C–175 °C
Heat about 2 cm of oil in the deep pan to 170 °C–175 °C.
-
Cooking 10–15 minTemp 170 °C–175 °C
Fry the aubergines in batches without crowding the pan for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
Check Golden brown and soft right through when pressed.
Tip Hot oil seals them: below about 165 °C they soak up oil and turn greasy.
The sauce and pasta
-
Cooking 20 minHeat medium-low
In the saucepan, warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic over low heat for 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until thick. Tear in half the basil at the end.
Check Thick enough that a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clear trail.
-
Cooking 10–12 min
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water (about 10 g per litre) until al dente.
-
Hands-on 3 min
Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce and half the aubergines. Serve topped with the rest of the aubergines, fresh basil and plenty of grated ricotta salata.
The essentials, for cooks who know the dish. Switch to Detailed for quantities, temperatures, times and checks at every step.
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Errori comuni
Common mistakes
- Baking or grilling the aubergine instead of frying it.
- Replacing ricotta salata with fresh ricotta — the dish needs the salty, aged cheese.
Fuori dall'Italia
Cooking it outside Italy
- No ricotta salata? A firm, salty sheep's cheese such as a dry feta is the nearest substitute.
