AUTHENTIC Pasta alla Norma Recipe

Looking for an authentic Pasta Alla Norma recipe? When I visited Sicily in Italy I was blown away by this simple pasta with tomatoes and eggplant. Little did I know that there are only three (or four) ingredients needed for this super simple but legendary pasta (that also happens to be vegetarian too)! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.

Pasta alla Norma hails from Catania in Sicily. It is said to have been named after Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma. The famous Catanese playwright Nino Martoglio reportedly exclaimed, "Chista è 'na vera Norma!" ("This is a real Norma!"aka a masterpiece) when he tasted it. And that's how this legendary Italian pasta was created.

I have to be honest, I didn't really love Pasta alla Norma before I tried it in Sicily. While I liked it in Australia I didn't LOVE it and always felt like there was something missing. But when we were there we had so many delicious Pasta alla Normas that it completely changed my mind about it. Then my Sicilian tour guide Carm said that you just need three ingredients: Napoletana sauce (tomato pasta sauce), eggplant and pasta. Plus a generous shaving of ricotta salata on top! And she's absolutely right!

8 Tips For Making THE BEST Pasta alla Norma!

1 - So while Pasta alla Norma only requires 3-4 ingredients, it does take a bit of time but it can also be done in stages. The thing that takes the longest is cooking the eggplant. And it does involve deep frying eggplant. This is one of the few dishes I will happily deep fry for because it's SO delicious! You can deep fry the eggplant 1-2 days beforehand and just keep it in the fridge for when you want to make it.

2 - Make sure to salt the eggplant first. This draws out the moisture and any bitterness from the eggplant. Make sure to dry the eggplant well so that it doesn't spit when it gets deep fried in the oil.

3 - If you have some sturdy long bbq tongs handy I'd suggest using them for frying the eggplant. It's amazing what a few inches of tong handle makes!

4 - I don't recommend roasting or cooking the eggplant any other way than deep frying. The softness and the melting texture of the fried eggplant is what makes this pasta dish so special. Otherwise if you don't want to cook with oil I'd suggest perhaps trying another recipe :) I just don't think the result will be that nice.

5 - Each batch of eggplant takes around 10 minutes of frying just to make sure that each piece is soft and melting. The softer the eggplant is, the more it melds into the pasta sauce too giving it a creamy texture so please don't rush this step.

6 - I used a tube pasta as this was what all of the restaurants used in Sicily for their Norma pasta. Try rigatoni, calamarata or paccheri pasta.

7 - Pasta alla Norma is always sprinkled with a very generous amount of grated ricotta salata cheese. This cheese can be found at Italian grocers with a good sized cheese section.

8 - This is one of those pastas that tastes amazing the next day, the sauce doesn't disappear into the pasta too much either.

I can't wait to share my Sicily stories with you. I spent 5 nights Sicily on a food tour and then Mr NQN came and met me (he flew out a few days later because of work) and then we had 3 extra nights to ourselves doing what we wanted in Sicily. We did a lot of driving because Sicily is a big island and there is a lot to see. Each town has its own different personality and we explored a gorgeous little seaside town called Marzamemi as well as glamorous Taormina and gritty but amazing Palermo on our own.

I'm more partial to hotels but Mr NQN loves Airbnbs or similar accommodation. There's this type of accommodation in Sicily which is not quite a big hotel, but not an Airbnb either. It can be a few rooms in a converted house or building with a maximum of 4 rooms but the people do not live on the grounds so it's not a BNB but they sometimes have staff at reception so it's not an Airbnb. I stayed at a nice one in Catania. We needed to find somewhere to stay for 3 nights so we compromised, I wanted a nice hotel in Taormina but that ate up most of our budget and so we would choose this type of accommodation for the other 2 nights.

Unfortunately none of these places were great and ranged from having pulsating disco lights in one bathroom to having a rotting fish smell (I think from the seafood restaurant below) and an abusive and tiny shower. I tried to have a quick shower but ended up battling with a crazy shower head that I swore doubled as a firehose. I emerged out of the bathroom appearing like a drowned rat, hair dripping and whispering to myself that I didn't even want to wash my hair. That was the last straw. "That's it!" I said, "Only hotels from now on when in Sicily!". Considering I closely resembled the girl from The Ring, even Mr NQN had to agree at that point.

So tell me Dear Reader, what sort of places do you like to stay at? Have you ever tried Pasta alla Norma in Sicily?

Authentic Pasta alla Norma Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes waiting time

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 4-6 people (4 generously as a main, 6 as part of a multi course menu)

• Oil for frying
• 3 teaspoons of salt (approximately)
• 1.2kgs/2.7lbs eggplant (2 large regular, you can also use Japanese eggplant)
• 2x400ml/14oz your favourite Napoli or Napoletana tomato pasta sauce (home made sauce recipe here)
• 500g rigatoni, calamarata or paccheri pasta
• 100g/3.5ozs ricotta salata*
• 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs pasta cooking water
• Sprig of fresh basil to finish

Buyer's tip: Ricotta salata can be found at Italian grocers with a good sized cheese section. I bought mine from Panetta in Marrickville

Step 1 - First cut the eggplant into small chunks. if you use Japanese eggplant you can slice the eggplant into rings. Place one layer in a deep colander and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, repeat until all of the eggplant is used. Place on top of a rimmed plate and allow the moisture to draw out at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant pieces and then pat dry between two paper towels. Then I also squeeze each piece in a paper towel just to ensure that there is no moisture left because it will spit in the oil otherwise.

Step 2 - Place a heavy pot on the stove on medium heat. Add an inch of oil and heat to 160C/320F. Gently add pieces of eggplant in one layer in the oil. Turn the pieces over after 4-5 minutes and cook for another 4-5 minutes ensuring that the pieces of eggplant are soft and melting. Place on paper towels and repeat until all of the eggplant is cooked.

Step 3 - While it is cooking, place a large pot of salted water onto boil and cook the pasta until almost al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

Step 4 - Place the sauce in a large pot or saucepan on medium heat and heat up and add the eggplant pieces. Bring to a simmer and then add the cooked pasta and stir and allow the pasta and sauce to simmer for a minute or two together adding some pasta water - I usually need around 1/2 cup or so. Taste for seasoning and add salt, black pepper and sugar if needed (I usually add 1 teaspoon of sugar unless the sauce is already sweet). Spoon the pasta and sauce onto a plate and generously grate ricotta salata on top. Adorn with a sprig of fresh basil.