Pasta alla Norma

Many years ago I traveled with my family to our homeland of Sicily to see where the family was from.  We toured around the island, tracking down birth certificates and marriage licenses.  It was an amazing trip, punctuated with unforgettable meals.

Sicilian food isn't the same heavy cuisine as the northern parts of the country; instead, the food of the island represents a melting pot of influences and a culture that has thrived on meager existences.  This classical dish, pasta alla norma, took us by surprise at how much flavor was packed into such few ingredients, cooked just barely enough to bring out the essence of each one.  I think that this dish could represent the humble beginnings of tomato use in Italy, coming over from the Americas and passed by the Spaniards to the Italian islanders.  In the beginning, tomatoes were often barely cooked rather than being pureed into sauces, and were often tossed with some form of grain and maybe a couple of other vegetables.  So this dish is essentially a trip backwards in time through the history of the Italy's "golden apple".

I present a very classical recipe, not unlike ones I found by Mark Bittman and Mario Batali.  You can plate this however you like, but I relish the crudeness of the ingredients and prefer to serve this as large bites of everything, an homage to the basic vegetables that would go on to form the much more eloquent language of an entire cuisine over the centuries.


Sicilian Pasta with Eggplant (Pasta alla Norma)
Gourmet, April 1999 plus NY Times online, June 2013

• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1.5 lb Asian eggplants
• 1.5 lb tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (canned is acceptable)
• 1 pound ridged rigatoni
• 1/3 cup olive oil plus 2 tbsp
• ½ cup freshly grated ricotta salata cheese
• ½ cup chopped basil
• 1-2 dried chiles or Aleppo pepper flakes, optional

Peel garlic. Trim stem ends of eggplants. Halve eggplants lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. In a large sieve drain tomatoes. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and chop into pieces.

In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil for pasta.

In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry eggplant in 2 batches, turning, until golden brown on both sides, and beginning to get “sticky”. Transfer eggplant as fried with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, arranging it in one layer. Season eggplant with salt and pepper.

Pour off oil from skillet and wipe clean with paper towels. Add remaining 2 tbsp oil to skillet and cook garlic and chile pepper (if using) over low heat, stirring, until golden. Stir in tomatoes with any juices that have accumulated and quickly simmer about 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Transfer half of tomato sauce with half of ricotta salata to a large bowl and toss with pasta and half of eggplant, adding some reserved pasta cooking water if sauce becomes too thick. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and top with remaining sauce and eggplant and some of remaining cheese.

Garnish pasta with basil and serve remaining cheese on the side.