What is pasta alla Norma?

Some dishes are complicated. Pasta alla Norma is four things done properly: a good tomato sauce, aubergine fried until soft and golden, salty ricotta grated over the top and a handful of basil. Sicily's summer, on a plate.

What it is

Wikipedia's pasta alla Norma entry describes it as a pasta dish made with aubergine, typical of Sicilian cooking and of Catania in particular: penne or other pasta with tomato sauce, covered with fried aubergine and served with grated ricotta salata and often basil. Italian Wikipedia calls it the symbolic dish of Catania's cooking, usually made with maccheroni, and notes that pasta with tomato and aubergine was widespread across the south well before the dish got its name.

The name story

La Cucina Italiana tells the tradition: Nino Martoglio, a writer and poet from Catania, was so impressed by the dish that he called it "Norma", after the opera by Vincenzo Bellini, who was also from Catania. Italian Wikipedia is careful to say the origin of the name is not certain and that there are no direct, unambiguous accounts; it gives Martoglio as one plausible version and, as another, a chef creating the dish to honour Bellini's opera. The English entry adds that the name does not appear in print until decades after Martoglio's death.

So: a lovely story, possibly true, and a dish named after an opera either way.

The components

The tomato sauce. Simple and quick: garlic warmed in olive oil, good tinned or fresh tomatoes, salt, a few basil leaves, simmered until thick and glossy. It shouldn't be heavy; the aubergine brings the richness. If yours tastes dull, see a tomato sauce that tastes flat.

The aubergine. Traditionally fried in slices or cubes until deep golden and soft right through, then drained. Undercooked aubergine is squeaky and spongy; fully cooked, it is creamy and sweet. Frying uses a lot of oil, so many home cooks roast or pan-fry with less. Our pages on aubergine that isn't oily and salting aubergine help.

The ricotta salata. This is the signature. Wikipedia's ricotta entry describes ricotta salata as a pressed, salted, dried and aged version of the cheese, firm enough for grating or shaving over pasta. It adds a salty, milky, slightly tangy note. If you can't find it, a mild pecorino or a dry, salty sheep's cheese is the nearest stand-in; Parmesan works but tastes different.

The basil. Torn, generously, at the end.

Putting it together

• Cook the pasta in well-salted water until al dente.
• Toss it in the tomato sauce with a splash of pasta water, so the sauce clings.
• Fold in some of the aubergine, or lay it on top; many cooks keep some back to crown each plate.
• Grate ricotta salata over generously and tear over basil.

Short shapes such as maccheroni, rigatoni or penne catch the sauce and aubergine best, though spaghetti versions exist too.

Variations

• Baked: layered in a dish with extra cheese and finished in the oven, close to a parmigiana.
• Pizza alla Norma: the same toppings on pizza, which Italian Wikipedia notes is also widespread in Sicily.
• With fresh ricotta: a spoonful of creamy ricotta on top instead of grated ricotta salata. Not traditional, but delicious.
• With chilli: a pinch in the sauce for warmth.