Sicily
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma, 3 ways
A Sicilian dish from Catania finished with fried eggplant, tomato sauce, and salted sheep's-milk cheese. Named, as the story goes, after Bellini's opera Norma, and chefs diverge on how the eggplant is cut, which oil it's fried in, how the tomato is passed, and which cheese finishes the dish.
Official videos by Tomomi Ogura
A representative video and official arrangements with different ingredients or pasta. Check the original videos for the method.
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GialloZafferanoItaly's largest recipe media outlet (founded 2006, now under Mondadori) Source verified
Frying oil returned to the sauce, an oil-free simmer first
- Simmers the tomato base with no oil at all, drawing out moisture using only garlic and basil, an 'oil-free simmer'
- States outright that stirring a spoonful of the eggplant frying oil back into the tomato purée is the secret to a sensational flavor
- Explains its reason for milling instead of blending: preserving texture and color by not crushing the seeds
- Also credits tips passed down from the chef of U Fucularu, a longstanding trattoria in Catania
References: [1]
His own scallion addition, a food mill to protect the color
- Prefaces the scallion (cipollotto) addition by saying classic recipes don't include it, calling it his own touch for a bit of sweetness
- Explains his reason for choosing a food mill over a blender: a blender crushes the seeds and ruins the tomato's color
- Fries the eggplant to stay pale rather than golden, the opposite direction from the other two variants
- Specifies the timing that cheese must go in only after the heat is turned off
View the original recipe Load this style
In the chef’s words
- Nelle ricette classiche non la mettono, non la menzionano, mettono soltanto l'aglio, io ci metto il cipollotto che mi dà un po' di dolcezza source
- No, frullatore! Perché diventa un colore brutto, cambia il colore del pomodoro, perché frulla i semi rompe i semi source
- Non vi inventate niente! Ci vuole la cacioricotta! source
References: [1]
Vincenzo's PlateItalian-born, Sydney-based YouTube channel Source verified
Crushed canned tomatoes, cheese melted straight into the sauce
- Skips milling the tomatoes entirely, going for a rougher texture by just crushing canned tomatoes or passata with a masher
- Pre-splits the fried eggplant into 3/4 for simmering into the sauce and 1/4 reserved as a plated topping
- Does double duty with ricotta salata: melting some into the sauce itself as well as scattering more on top
- Gives concrete boiling specifics (5L water, 1 tbsp rock salt) and states outright that the quality of the eggplant is the key to the dish
Compared on 8 axes
Figures are transcribed as written in each video or recipe page
| AXIS | GialloZafferano | Max Mariola | Vincenzo's Plate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type and quantity of pasta | 500g sedani rigati, serves 6 | 150g rigatoni, serves 2 | 300g casarecce, serves 2 |
| Cutting and salting the eggplant | Sliced 8mm thick, salted and drained 15+ minutes | Skin-on, roughly diced, salted and drained while the sauce is made | Cut into strips, 3/4 into the sauce, 1/4 reserved for the finish |
| Frying oil and method | EVOO at 170-180C until golden | Peanut oil (olio di arachidi, no temperature given), fried to stay pale and soft | Vegetable oil at 180C, until golden |
| Preparing the tomato | Ripe tomatoes simmered oil-free for 30 min, food-milled, then simmered 40 more | 300g fresh ripe tomatoes started from cold oil, passed through a food mill (no blender) | Canned peeled tomatoes/passata simply crushed with a masher (no milling) |
| Garlic and aromatics | 4 cloves total, whole (3 in the first simmer, 1 added after milling) | 2 small cloves, plus his own scallion (cipollotto) addition | 2 cloves, crushed (a tablespoon of water added to keep from burning) |
| Finishing cheese | Ricotta salata (salted sheep's milk ricotta) | Cacio ricotta | Ricotta salata |
| Finish (basil, pepper, etc.) | A spoonful of the frying oil, a raw drizzle of EVOO, basil | Hand-torn basil, black pepper, cheese only added off the heat | 1 cup pasta water, basil, ricotta salata melted in |
| Time required | 25 min prep, 60 min cooking (about 85 min total) | Not specified | 5 min prep, 25 min cooking (30 min total) |
| Source check | Source verified | Source verified | Source verified |
GialloZafferano Frying oil returned to the sauce, an oil-free simmer first
- Type and quantity of pasta
- 500g sedani rigati, serves 6
- Cutting and salting the eggplant
- Sliced 8mm thick, salted and drained 15+ minutes
- Frying oil and method
- EVOO at 170-180C until golden
- Preparing the tomato
- Ripe tomatoes simmered oil-free for 30 min, food-milled, then simmered 40 more
- Garlic and aromatics
- 4 cloves total, whole (3 in the first simmer, 1 added after milling)
- Finishing cheese
- Ricotta salata (salted sheep's milk ricotta)
- Finish (basil, pepper, etc.)
- A spoonful of the frying oil, a raw drizzle of EVOO, basil
- Time required
- 25 min prep, 60 min cooking (about 85 min total)
- Source
- Source verified
Max Mariola His own scallion addition, a food mill to protect the color
- Type and quantity of pasta
- 150g rigatoni, serves 2
- Cutting and salting the eggplant
- Skin-on, roughly diced, salted and drained while the sauce is made
- Frying oil and method
- Peanut oil (olio di arachidi, no temperature given), fried to stay pale and soft
- Preparing the tomato
- 300g fresh ripe tomatoes started from cold oil, passed through a food mill (no blender)
- Garlic and aromatics
- 2 small cloves, plus his own scallion (cipollotto) addition
- Finishing cheese
- Cacio ricotta
- Finish (basil, pepper, etc.)
- Hand-torn basil, black pepper, cheese only added off the heat
- Time required
- Not specified
- Source
- Source verified
Vincenzo's Plate Crushed canned tomatoes, cheese melted straight into the sauce
- Type and quantity of pasta
- 300g casarecce, serves 2
- Cutting and salting the eggplant
- Cut into strips, 3/4 into the sauce, 1/4 reserved for the finish
- Frying oil and method
- Vegetable oil at 180C, until golden
- Preparing the tomato
- Canned peeled tomatoes/passata simply crushed with a masher (no milling)
- Garlic and aromatics
- 2 cloves, crushed (a tablespoon of water added to keep from burning)
- Finishing cheese
- Ricotta salata
- Finish (basil, pepper, etc.)
- 1 cup pasta water, basil, ricotta salata melted in
- Time required
- 5 min prep, 25 min cooking (30 min total)
- Source
- Source verified
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1 
Pasta & boiling Brand, thickness, salt, water volume, cooking time
Pasta & boiling Brand, thickness, salt, water volume, cooking time 2 Base Fat and the main ingredient: rendering, infusing
3 
Sauce & emulsion Where you toss, heat level, how much pasta water
Sauce & emulsion Where you toss, heat level, how much pasta water 4 
Finish Cheese, pepper, finishing oil, plating
Finish Cheese, pepper, finishing oil, plating The map of schools: where the heat is managed
For Pasta alla Norma, the fork in the road is how you emulsify and heat
Toss over direct heat
The pan stays on the flame and your hands manage the temperature. Fast, but it takes feel.
Indirect heat
Bain-marie, steam, double boiler or a hand blender. Repeatable, at the cost of one extra step.
- No styles here
Off the heat
Emulsify after killing the flame, or in a bowl with only the pasta’s residual heat. Hard to get wrong.
- No styles here
What to serve after this
In an Italian meal the primo (pasta) is followed by a secondo (main course)
Caponata siciliana
Caponata siciliana
A Sicilian dish of fried eggplant simmered in a sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce with celery, onion, olives and capers. Today it is served as a contorno or antipasto, and it is registered as a traditional agri-food product (P.A.T.) of the Sicily region.
Pairs with: Pasta alla Norma / Pasta con le Sarde / Pesto alla trapanese
A menu from the same island and the same Catania area, sharing the motif of fried eggplant with this dish.
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