Pasta Alla Norma Recipe (2024)

This was delicious due in large part to some of the comments I read ahead of time. I, too, roasted the eggplant cubes that I'd tossed w/s+p for 25 minutes at 400. They came out perfect. For the sauce I used a large can of San Marzano tomatoes and 2 TBS tomato paste. I added red pepper flakes instead of the dried chiles. To my good fortune our local grocery had ricotta salata and that was a wonderful finishing touch. I will surely make this again with these modifications to the recipe.

An old favorite, reimagined a bit and just as good. I'd suggest roasting the eggplant (cubed) in the oven at around 400F for about 25 minutes or so, tossed with oil and seasonings, on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Make the tomatoes while it's roasting, cook the pasta too and then assemble. Buon appetito!

1) Using Japanese eggplants (those with the purple, not green, calyx) will greatly improve the flavor: Japanese eggplants are much less bitter.2) For pasta alla Norma, it is essential to shield as much as possible the cooked eggplant from the tomato sauce: for reasons that perhaps a chemist could explain, the tomato sauce destroys the flavor of eggplants. Therefore, do not reheat the eggplant in the tomato sauce. Toss the past in the tomato sauce, add basil and only then add the eggplants.

If, on the front end, you cut the eggplant into cubes, salt lightly and then spread the cubes out on a microwave safe plate, lined with paper coffee filters, and microwave for 10 minutes on high power--a lot of the moisture in the eggplant is drawn out--the end result are cubes that brown better AND soak up less of the EVOO...

This dish is even better with slow roasted tomatoes. Halfway through roasting, drizzle the tomato olive oil over the eggplant. Replenish the olive oil for the tomatoes. Continue roasting. Then you have this amazing eggplant with roasted tomato oil.

Frying eggplant requires higher heat to reduce the amount of oil required. Roasting is easier and/or safer.

DEFINITELY cubed, unpeeled, oven-roasted eggplant, tossed with olive oil, S&P, red pepper flakes and even some dried oregano--but FORTY mins @ 400 degrees is far too long; the result should still have a little textural integrity, or all you'll be left with is bits of peel in the tomato sauce! (And speaking of latter, if--like me--you make the occasional batch of your own tomato sauce and freeze it in smaller portions, you can easily use some of it in the recipe.)

The last time I made this I brushed the eggplant slices w olive oil and grilled them. It used a lot less olive oil and the eggplant was very tasty and not dry.

I cut the eggplant in cubes and roasted them with EVOO, salt and pepper. Used canned whole San Marzano tomatoes,a spoonful of tomato paste, red pepper flakes and added a couple of sardines for depth. Didn't have ricotta salata so used combo feta and fresh Parmesan. Great and fast. Recommend pasta with shape to hold the sauce better.

Roasted the eggplant and fresh tomatoes for ~30 minutes at 400. Tasty!

I loved it, but and this is a big one. Eggplant absorbs a lot of oil, if the idea is to consume 1/2 a gallon of olive oil in one sitting then this is a great recipe. I squeezed the eggplants with the tongues I used to flip them. This released a lot of the oil and made the eggplant less oil saturated. After all is a pasta dish it should not cost $30.00 dollars in olive oil

Very tasty! I think 1 pound of pasta is way to much for the sauce that is prepared. I was digging through a pile of pasta looking for the goodies.

Most of the time was taken up in cooking the eggplant, if you scale down the recipe so there's only one batch of eggplant slices to cook; it'll go faster. Start the boiling water Some paprika and other seasoning on the eggplant as it cooks will not overdo it. (h/t Braedon Nickerson). Found it difficult to strike a balance between getting the eggplant flesh tender and having the skin tough; roasting is a good idea.

Roast the eggplant in an air fryer after tossing with a little olive oil.

Lovely recipe. The olive oil is the point!It makes this recipe unctuous . Making the recipe as it is written will result in a rich and decadent pasta, so if that’s what you want, just follow the recipe. This is not diet food, but it does not claim to be . Delicious!

Roasted the eggplant in an air fryer at 400 for 20 minutes.

I was lucky to eat this pasta dish in Sicily a couple of years ago. This recipe is Italian cooking personified. There are just a few ingredients, but they turn into a delicious dish. I fried the eggplant...stop being so afraid of oil you New Yorkers! I halved the pasta and added the same amount of eggplant. Great vegetarian dinner (and I'm not vegetarian)

Deserves its 5 stars for flavor, ease and adaptability(more garlic, please). Follow the notes on eggplant prep in the oven -- 25-30 minutes.

Like others, I also roasted my eggplant, then for the tomatoes used a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes. I let it simmer for around 40 minutes (didn’t have more time). Dish was delicious, especially with the pecorino romano sprinkled on top.

I made this almost exactly as directed, although only a half recipe, and it was spectacular. The only difference: I used about a third of a pound of linguine instead of a half pound for two servings. Yes, the eggplant soaks up olive oil, but while it’s cooking it releases a lot of it too. So it’s not oily. My husband ate an entire plate (which he NEVER does with anything—how he was brought up). The only question I had was at what temp do you cook the eggplant? I tried a lot of temps.

I have made this twice. It is absolutely delicious and one of my favorites. Frying the eggplant is time-consuming and requires a large quantity of oil. I recommend putting on the lid when frying the egg plant to help reduce the quantity of oil. I've tried it with fresh and canned tomatoes (large can, diced, and strained); fresh tomatoes are preferred. I plan on taking others' advice and baking the eggplant in the future to reduce the amount of oil used.

Roast eggplant at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will definitely roast the eggplants. Do I need to salt, wait and drain the eggplant cubes before roasting? Thanks

In a pinch I used TJs canned eggplant and onion combo and a large can of whole Cento tomatoes. Had that nice depth from the eggplant and was a great and super fast weeknight dinner. I hope to make the full version soon!

Oh wow, this is good. I almost took all the reader suggestions and roasted the eggplant but I decided to follow the recipe. I’ll try roasting instead at some point but I can’t imagine it would yield remotely the same result. Done Mark Bittman’s way, the eggplant basically breaks down into the sauce. At least it did for me. I couldn’t find ricotta salata so I used pecorino as recommended. Delish!

I made this tonight and it was delicious. I cut the eggplant into 1" cubes and combined them with olive oil, 1/2 a tsp of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Then I baked them for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. After about 12 minutes, I added my chopped tomatoes, garlic and oregano to the pan. I continued roasting for an additional 25 - 30 minutes. Finally, I added the basil and pasta. Roasting it all together makes it an easy dish.

I listened to a lot of the comments below (about throwing the eggplant in the oven), but frying in the same pan as the sauce gets made adds an extra oomph to the flavor and recommend sticking with that.