Pasta alla Norma

Name: Pasta alla Norma by @juliaostro
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 eggplant (around 350 g); 60 ml extra virgin olive, plus extra for shallow frying; 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 400 g tin Mutti Polpa; handful Large of basil leaves, plus extra to serve; 350 g pasta such as fusilli, maccheroni or rigatoni; Ricotta salata or parmigiano, grated, to serve; Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta alla Norma is the world-famous Italian dish originating from Sicily. This exquisite Pasta alla Norma recipe is created by the talented food writer and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura.

Made with Polpa

Mutti Polpa keeps all the freshness of freshly picked tomatoes. This unique product combines the finely cut pulpy part of the fruit with its own juice.

40 min (COOK TIME: 40 min)

Easy

Vegetarian

Ingredients

1 eggplant (around 350 g)
60 ml extra virgin olive, plus extra for shallow frying
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
400 g tin Mutti Polpa
handful Large of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
350 g pasta such as fusilli, maccheroni or rigatoni
Ricotta salata or parmigiano, grated, to serve
Salt and pepper to taste

Did you know?
Pasta alla Norma is said to get its name from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini.

We also recommend this pasta alla napoletana recipe

Share the ingredient list

Method

Dice the eggplant into 2cm pieces. Pour enough olive oil into a small saucepan so that it’s around 1cm in depth. Shallow fry the eggplant in batches until golden on the outside and soft on the inside (around 4 minutes). Allow to drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
Meanwhile, warm the 60ml of olive oil in a large pan over a low flame and add the garlic. Allow the garlic to perfume the oil, for about 3 minutes, stirring to avoid it browning. Increase the heat to medium and add in the Mutti Polpa and 1/4 cup of water, stir and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through the fried eggplant and basil leaves and keep warm.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of generously salted boiling water and cook until just before al dente, following the directions on the packet. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid.
Return the pan with the sauce back onto a medium heat, tumble the pasta into the sauce, along with a ladle full of the cooking water and stir to combine. Allow the sauce and pasta to cook for a few minutes longer until the pasta is just al dente. You can continue to add in some more of the pasta water if the sauce becomes too thick.
Season to taste and serve Pasta alla Norma immediately with extra basil leaves and a generous scattering of ricotta salata.

With friends, Family, Italian food, Penne, Vegetarian, Main course, Pasta

Pasta alla Norma is simple but perfect

The original Pasta alla Norma recipe contains only a handful of ingredients and it has remained as such throughout the years. The most important part of Pasta alla Norma besides the actual pasta are fried aubergines (or eggplants), ricotta cheese, first class tomatoes and fresh basil.

In this recipe Julia has used Mutti Polpa, which contains only two ingredients. In Polpa sun-ripened and finely chopped Italian tomatoes meet with a pinch of Mediterranean sea salt.

Pasta alla Norma and the Catanese opera

Pasta alla Norma has a tight connection with the opera by the same name. Norma was composed by Vincenzo Bellini from Catania and the perfection of his work was soon used to describe also the excellence of this certain pasta. There is also a legend saying that Pasta alla Norma was intentionally created to celebrate the premiere of the opera on 26th of December 1831. Be that as it may, today probably most of the restaurants in Catania serve Pasta alla Norma to their clients as it has became one of Sicily’s most iconic dishes.

Liked the recipe?

Pasta alla Norma

Made with Polpa

Ingredients

Share the ingredient list

Method

Pasta alla Norma is simple but perfect

Pasta alla Norma and the Catanese opera

Liked the recipe?

Review and share with your friends

Comments 0 Cancel reply

Also made with: Polpa

Baked salmon with tomato sauce

Penne with Tomato Sauce, Eggplant & Chick Peas

Eggs in Purgatory Recipe

Pork Medallions with Tomatoes, Prosciutto & Arugula

Spaghetti Squash Pie

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Sausage with White Beans, Tomatoes, Onions

Mutti® bolognese from Italy

Tomato-Poached Shrimp with Peas, Herbs & Farro

Sardinian Pasta with Olives and Ricotta Salata

Polenta and sausage ragu

Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes

Pasta Napoletana

Farmer style pork chop in tomato sauce

Tomato soup with croutons

Veal meatballs in tomato sauce

Kataifi prawn with basil, tomato and exotic fruit chutney

Salmon with thyme confit, crispy polenta and chopped tomatoes with basil and onion

Smoked salmon macarons with finely chopped tomatoes

Lentil cottage pie

Zucchini Chickpea fritters with corn

Mussels in tomato broth

Vegan minestrone recipe

Quick & Easy Baked Beans in tomato sauce

Pulled Pork Tortilla Tartlets

Tacos With Chili Beans

Spanish Baked Eggs

Sweet Potato Jackets with Chilli Beans

Vegetarian shakshuka

Cod with tomato and olives

Oysters and Mutti Polpa on Chapa Bread

Quail Cacciatore

Italian meatballs in tomato sauce

Vietnamese Banh Mi Meatballs

Pineapple relish with sweet and spicy tomato

Prawn Saganaki

Tripe Soup (Zuppa di Trippa)

Lebanese green bean with tomatoes

Beef borscht soup

Mutti® Bruschetta appetizer

Tomato Tartare

Mussels Fra Diavolo

Ratatouille pasta

Spaghetti Marinara

Chicken parmesan quick recipe

Marinara Fettuccine

Polpette ricotta with beef

Seafood Stew with tomato

Pizza Margherita

Spicy meatballs in tomato sauce

Lentil Bolognese, Burrata and Garlic Pangrattato Pappardelle

Pita bread pizza margherita

Cavatelli with Pork and Fennel Sausages and Peas by @italyonmymind

Mutti Nourishing Bowl

Peperonata

Honey Chicken Nuggets with Tomato Relish

Vegan Italian meatballs with spaghetti

Italian sausage rolls recipe

Eggplant Fatteh

Tomato and Parmesan Spelt Biscuits

Beef Goulash recipe

Quick meatball pasta recipe

Pork ragu with pappardelle

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Seafood Lasagna

Mediterranean Ziti with anchovies

Vegetarian Pizza “Ortolana”

Rigatoni all’amatriciana

Linguine with finely chopped tomatoes, aubergines and pistachchios

Comments 0
Cancel reply