Fresh eggplant always make me crave Pasta Alla Norma.Pasta All Norma is an eggplant and pasta dish featuring roasted or sauted eggplant, with a tomato basil sauce and fresh lite cheese. Today I'm sharing a weekday-approved Pasta All Norma with my Modern take on authentic recipe.My recipe is an every-day pasta bowl, simple and easy for weekdays.
This pasta bowl is also completevegetarian. (our special favorite on Meatless Mondays). I you like veggie-forward eggplant dishes and Pasta Alla Norma, you will also love my Eggplant Ratatouille, Baked Eggplant Parmesan and Eggplant Rollatini Recipes.
Traditional Pasta All Norma is roasted or sauted eggplant with tomato basil sauce, and shavings ricotta salata cheese with lots of basil. My recipe for Pasta all Norma showcases all these flavors but with quick and lite take.
Honestly, on weekdays, I like a pasta bowl which is easy to prepare, has bold flavors to keep my family happy. In my home, a Vegetarian bowl can make my carnivorous family happy only if it is singing with bold scrumptious flavors. (easy-to-prepare is pure hidden bonus for lazy-tired me). The fact that Vishal ate a bowl of pasta without meat means a victory. Cheery-on-top when I'm asked to include this in next week's menu.
Make-it Easy Pasta Alla Norma:
This recipe is weekday approved. I take help of some pantry and low-fat refrigerator staples to prepare an easy Pasta All Norma. Here is what I do:
1) I either grill or roast sliced eggplant for quick, low-oil yet meaty eggplant. 2) For tomato-basil sauce, I either make sauce over the weekend or use my favorite brand of tomato-basil sauce from pantry. This reduce the prep work to more than half. 3) Low-fat cottage cheese is one of our favorite breakfast cheese. It's always in my refrigerator and we love it's clean taste.So instead of buying a pack of ricotta salata just for this recipe. I always reach for low-fat creamy cottage cheese.
Note: You can also use homemade fresh ricotta for pasta alla norma. (I'm planning to share my recipe. But it will be a new post.)
4) I finish the pasta with basil pesto. Basil pesto is ready-to-use and adds such bold basil flavor to this eggplant-tomato pasta dish. It has nuts, parmesan, basil - all in one. I highly recommend using it. In-fact, if you have pesto, you can even skip fresh basil. I also have recipe for homemade Basil Pesto to try.
This Pasta All Norma, by all means is my Modern take on Pasta All Norma. But it fly from kitchen to dinner table in 25-30 minutes. (a dish that otherwise takes 1 hour to prepare) and has restaurant-quality flavors.
Grilled or Roasted Eggplant:
The key ingredient and star of the Pasta Alla Norma is: Eggplant. Personally, I love grilled eggplant for this dish. On weekdays, I use indoor cast iron grilling pan. Spray of oil on griddle and eggplant starts sizzling. It takes 2-3 minutes to grill each side. Eggplant should be thin even sliced for even cooking on the grill.
Note: if grilling outdoor on gas grill. Grill eggplant on low-heat side.
When using roasted eggplant, I preheat oven at 400 degrees. Oil and season eggplant with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until eggplant is nice and tender.
If you want to make fresh tomato sauce for this dish. I recommend trying my Arrabbiata Sauce.
I hope you like my tasty and easy take on Penne Alla Norma. I say, serve it for a vegetarian pasta dinner tonight! I bet you will have most of the ingredients in pantry right now. Grab few eggplants on your way home. Serve Pasta All Norma in just 30 minutes!
Oh, and don't forget to come back later and let me know how do you like it.
Total Time:Prep Time:Cook Time:Cuisine:Italian (Pasta, Main Course) Difficulty:Easy
Yields:3-4 Servings- Serves:4
(No. of servings depends on serving size.)
Ingredients
Directions
1.To cook pasta, bring a pot of water to rolling boil. Genrously seaspn with salt. Drop in pasta and cook until al-dente. Don't let pasta go mushy.
2.Pre-heat the grill. Or a cast iron pan. Coat eggplant slices with 1-2 tbsp oil. Massage well. Season with generous pinch or 2 of salt and black pepper. Grill until eggplant has nice grill marks, is cooked tender to your liking. (I grill 2-3 minute each side).
3.If used pan for grilling, after removing eggplant, wipe pan clean. Or use a fresh wide pan and a tbsp of oil. Add garlic and let perfume the oil for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce with dried basil, chili flakes, and simmer sauce for 5 minutes (covered)
4.Mix in grilled eggplant. Add half of ricotta, all cooked pasta and mix in the sauce gently. Divide eggplant-pasta mix among 3-4 serving bowls (depending upon serving size you want). Top with layer of remaining cheese, and basil pesto (divide equally among bowls). Garnish with fresh basil/parsley and drizzle of olive oil (both optional) Serve and enjoy!
Nero d'Avola, a red wine from Sicily, would be a natural pairing for Pasta alla Norma. This wine is known for its bold fruit flavors, often reminiscent of black cherries and plums, which would complement the tomato-based sauce of the dish.
It is said that the Italian writer Nino Martoglio exclaimed "This is a real 'Norma'!", meaning a masterpiece, when he tasted the dish, though the name is not attested until decades after his death.
Here's the skinny on pasta alla Norma, one of Sicily's most epic dishes. Eggplant, tomatoes, basil, and ricotta salata – these four ingredients are the fundamentals of pasta alla norma, a dish that originated in Catania, a city on Sicily's west coast.
With an Italian dish made of red sauce (marinara), eggplant, and pasta, your best wine would be a red, something like nero d'avalo. You'd want a sweet red because of the acidity in the red sauce. Barbera D'Alba from Ca' Viola winery , Nero d'Avola a red grape variety from Sicily or any medium bodied red wine.
Tomato-based sauces are powerfully tasting and highly acid – and are often blended with rich, red meats. Because of the acidity in tomatoes, a relatively tart red wine with middle-weight body (like a Pinot Noir) is your best option.
Pinot Noir: With its medium-bodied profile, Pinot Noir offers versatility when it comes to pasta pairings. It complements a range of flavours, making it an excellent choice for pasta dishes with various sauce types, including tomato-based or mushroom-based sauces.
Pasta alla norma is a celebrated dish from Catania that they say got its name from the opera by Vincenzo Bellini: “Chista è 'na vera Norma!”, meaning, “This is a real Norma (i.e.: masterpiece)”, is what the famous Catanese comedy writer Nino Martoglio exclaimed when he tasted it.
“La ragazza” translates as “the girl”. Adding the suffix “-ina" provides “la ragazzina" which means “the little girl". “A little girl" is “una ragazzina".
You could use the word 'piccino' which means small, tiny or little. Minuscolo. Alternatively, you could use the word 'minuscolo', which means miniscule or miniature.
What is ricotta salata? Ricotta salata is made from fresh ricotta cheese that is pressed, salted, dried, and aged for 30 days or more. With a milky white color, a firm texture and a salty taste, ricotta salata can be sliced, crumbled, or grated for use in a wide variety of dishes.
For Tomatoey or Extra-Meaty Eggs: Light-Bodied Red
For these types of dishes, red wines work well — just keep them light-bodied with good acidity, as heavy-bodied wines that are full of tannins can overpower the eggs. Good picks are Pinot Noir (whether it's a red Burgundy or a bottle from California) and Beaujolais.
Cooked tomato dishes pair well with medium bodied red wines. Aim to match to the high acidity of tomatoes - the meatier or creamier the dish, the fuller bodied wine you should aim for! Riesling is always a great match for spicier food and will go well with a penne all'arrabbiata.
* Greek, Turkish and Lebanese reds with their wild briary flavours. Unsurprisingly since aubergine is such an important ingredient in that part of the world. *For cold aubergine dishes such as baba ganoush or aubergine salads or try a crisp dry Provençal or southern French rosé or Spanish rosado.
Despite my love for Lambrusco, its full-bodied, dark-fruited juiciness would over-power the bright, acidic notes of this pasta's signature sauce. Chianti and Soave, however, would both make great matches. The two are mouthwatering enough to rival the high acidity of the tomato paste in the sauce.
Chianti Classico, a red wine from the Tuscany region of Italy, would be a good match for Penne alla Vodka. Made primarily from the Sangiovese grape, this wine is known for its high acidity and medium to high tannin content, which can help balance the creaminess of the dish.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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