Pasta alla Norma is a traditional pasta recipe from Sicily. It is a tasty and flavor-packed main dish that you can prepare for any occasion.
The original recipe includes maccheroni with fried eggplant, fresh tomato sauce flavored with basil leaves, and served with a sprinkle of salted ricotta. This recipe is adapted from Catania Restaurant, who was featured on Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci.
Pasta alla Norma – Searching for Italy Recipe
A luxurious pasta alla norma recipe that pairs fried eggplant with a decadent tomato sauce. Recipe is adapted from Catania Restaurant, who was featured on Searching for Italy
Ingredients
- 11 oz tortiglioni
- 13 oz eggplant, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes (preferably imported from Italy)
- 5 fresh basil leaves, fresh
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 4 tablespoons Grana Padano cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Place a wire rack over the sink and arrange eggplant slices. Sprinkle them with salt and let them stand for 45 minutes.
- Rinse eggplant slices and dry them well.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Fry eggplant slices for a couple of minutes until lightly golden.
- Place the slices on the kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.
- In another skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil and add garlic clove.
- Stir in tomato puree and basil leaves.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until dense.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta as indicated on the package instructions.
- Remove the garlic clove from the sauce.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
- Toss well to combine.
- Serve topped with the egglplant slices and grated cheese.
- Enjoy.
Notes
- You can also dice a few eggplant slices and add them to the tomato sauce.
- For more flavor, top the dish with salted ricotta.
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 566kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 486mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 282IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 2mg
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