How to Cook Pasta alla Norma like a Sicilian
Pasta alla Norma is a classic eggplant pasta dish cooked lovingly all over Sicily.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant cut into cubes or slices
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 800 grams tinned chopped plum tomatoes preferably Italian
- 1 tsp sugar
- 150 grams salted ricotta grated
- 1 handful Basil leaves torn roughly into pieces
- 500 grams rigatoni pasta
Instructions
- Salt the eggplant generously and leave stand for 30 minutes to drain it of its bitter liquid. Then rinse with cold clean water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- I a large pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil then fry the eggplant until crispy and golden brown on each side, do not allow to burn. Then set aside.
- Wipe then pan clean, then heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and then fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant then add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down into a nice smooth sauce.
- Meanwhile, boil a large pan of salted water and boil the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta reserving a ladleful of the pasta water.
- Add the fried aubergine and the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce and toss together. Add some of the pasta water to achieve a smooth glossy consistency.
- Serve in bowls and add generous amounts of grated salted ricotta and torn basil leaves.