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    September 23, 2019

    Penne with Eggplant Sauce (alla Norma)

    Penne pasta with eggplant is a luscious Sicilian dish. Fresh basil and salted ricotta add additional great flavor to the dish!

    If you saw my recent Instagram post then you know we had a mega-festa for the ferragosto August holiday. I made enough Penne with Eggplant Sauce (alla Norma) for over 30 people and by the time we got to the pasta course we had eaten so much else that I ended up with leftover pasta!

    Penne with Eggplant Sauce is one of my absolute favorite pasta dishes because the hero ingredient is eggplant and I adore eggplants! I decided on this pasta because we had an abundance of beautiful purple eggplants in our garden.

    Eggplants from the garden

    The ingredients are classic: deep fried eggplant, a fresh tomato sauce, fresh basil and grated ricotta salata. Basically you slice or cube the eggplant, salt it and let drain for an hour or two. Once all the bitter liquids have purged out you rinse the eggplant to get rid of the saltiness and then squeeze it dry. Then deep fry the slices and set aside. I usually set aside a few slices to use as a garnish.

    In the meantime make a tomato sauce with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh or canned peeled tomatoes - in this dish canned peeled tomatoes work better - and a garlic clove. While the sauce is cooking roughly grate the ricotta salata.

    Penne pasta is ideal for this dish. Once it’s cooked I put it in the serving dish and toss in the tomato sauce. I then toss in the eggplant cubes and about ⅔ of the ricotta salata.

    The last step is to top the pasta dish with the remaining ricotta salata, the fresh basil and the reserved eggplant slices. If you’ve never had this pasta dish then go for it! It’s exquisitely delicious!

    Penne with Eggplant Sauce is a Sicilian pasta dish. Supposedly the name comes from the Vincenzo Bellini Opera, Norma. Whatever its history it’s absolutely delicious!

    If you love eggplant you might also enjoy the recipes for Eggplant Parmesan, Curried Eggplant Soup or Penne with Cherry Tomatoes and Fried Eggplant.

    Penne With Eggplant Sauce (alla Norma)

    Serves 4-6
    This Sicilian pasta dish takes its name from the opera "Norma" by Catanian born
    Vincenzo Bellini. What makes the sauce so special is the use of grated ricotta salata
    as a garnish.

    Ingredients:
    500 grams Penne pasta
    2 eggplants, cubed or sliced
    ½ kilogram can peeled tomatoes
    1 garlic clove, smashed
    1 hot pepper
    20 fresh basil leaves
    70 grams Ricotta salata, coarsely grated
    (Ricotta that is aged and hardened and grateable

    Procedure:
    Salt the cubed eggplant and allow to drain in a colander for 30 minute up to several hours.
    Squeeze out the excess liquid and sauté in ¼ cup olive oil until tender.
    Sauté the garlic and red pepper in hot olive oil until it begins to sizzle.
    Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
    Add the fried eggplant to the tomato sauce.
    Cook the penne in boiling salted water until they are al dente.
    Drain the pasta and toss into the sauce.
    Garnish with the grated ricotta and basil leaves and serve the Penne with Eggplant Sauce immediately.

    It makes such a difference to use a beautiful pasta serving bowl for your pasta!

    Please note that the below printable recipe can be viewed and printed in either metric or U.S. conventional measurements; just click on your preference within the recipe.

    Penne summer pasta with eggplant is a luscious Sicilian dish. Fresh basil and salted ricotta add additional great flavor to the dish!

    Penne With Eggplant Sauce (alla Norma)

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 1 hour hour
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes
    This Sicilian eggplant pasta dish takes its name from the opera "Norma" by Catanian bornVincenzo Bellini. What makes the sauce so special is the use of grated ricotta salataas a garnish.
    Course: First Course, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: eggplant, pasta
    Wendy
    Servings: 6
    Wendy

    Ingredients 
    Metric - U.S. Customary

    • 500 grams Penne pasta
    • 2 eggplants cubed or sliced
    • ½ kilogram can peeled tomatoes
    • 1 garlic clove smashed
    • 1 hot pepper
    • 20 fresh basil leaves
    • 70 grams Ricotta salata coarsely grated

    Instructions

    • Salt the cubed eggplant and allow to drain in a colander for 30 minute up to several hours.
    • Squeeze out the excess liquid and sauté in ¼ cup olive oil until tender.
    • Sauté the garlic and red pepper in hot olive oil until it begins to sizzle.
    • Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
    • Add the fried eggplant to the tomato sauce.
    • Cook the penne in boiling salted water until they are al dente. The water should taste like the sea.
    • Drain the pasta and toss into the sauce.
    • Garnish with the grated ricotta salata and basil leaves and serve immediately.

    Notes

    Penne pasta with eggplant is a luscious Sicilian dish. Fresh basil and salted ricotta add additional great flavor to the dish!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 85g | Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 729mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 326IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    PIN THIS ON PINTEREST:

    Penne with Eggplant Sauce is a wonderful Sicilian pasta dish with fried eggplant, fresh basil and freshly grated aged ricotta!

    I make a small commission on purchases made through links on my website. Prices are identical, but purchasing through my links helps support my work to bring you great recipes, culinary and travel information!

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    About

    Wendy at Roscioli
    I’m American and I’ve lived in Italy for nearly four decades with my Italian family. My passion and strength lies in sharing Italian stories, recipes and unique travel insights on my blog, my Flavor of Italy trips and tours, newsletter and podcast. Continue Reading...

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