Pasta alla Norma is a famous pasta dish from the city of Catania in Sicily. This dish uses eggplant which is wildly abundant in Sicily’s gardens in the summer. Americans have not had the best experience with eggplant.  Eggplant when badly cooked is really terrible but a little attention and it shines as one of summer’s greatest vegetables.

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients and Directions:

• 2 medium or 1 large eggplant
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium red onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes (preferably San Marzano tomatoes)
• 4 sprigs of basil
• Sprigs of fresh thyme (if available)
• 1 pound ragatoni or other tubular pasta
• 1/2 pound ricotta salata, coarsely grated
• Extra virgin olive oil

Trim the ends off the eggplant and slice the eggplant lengthwise to a thickness of about 1/2-inch.

Continue reading Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Ricotta: Pasta alla Norma at Our Italian Table.