Bonjour David, I made this last night and it was delicious! I could not find ricotta salata in any of the little Italian food shops in Rennes. The one I thought most likely to carry it was closed for their congé annuel. I found a nice pecorino that had peppercorns in it that worked nicely though in one of the neighbourhood fromageries. For the tomato sauce I used a jar of "Sauce tomate Thym IGP Provence" by Champlat en Provence that I found at my Biocoop. While I was there I picked up a bag of pasta that I think you had recommended once. I only made a third of the recipe, since I was cooking for two, and we still had some leftover for today's lunch! Thanks again for the recipe!
Loved the simplicity of this recipe. It was delicious as I used more oil and salt than I ordinarily would (not a regular feature of our abstemious home cooking)!
Pasta alla Norma is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I rarely make it because frying in my open plan kitchen is not fun. I will try this method instead.
I'm not a fan of frying at home due to the mess and the small, although having an induction stove, clean up is a lot easier. Still, once you add the tomato sauce, etc, the oven-roasted eggplant are pretty good too !
I love it when you share a recipe and I have all the ingredients. I used local pasta - Pastaficio and grilled Japanese eggplants harvested from my garden, plus my husband's fantastic homemade red sauce.
Because I used feta and not ricotta, I'll call it pasta alla Cinzia.
This week I will be making sun gold tomato pasta sauce. It's become a favorite for me, and now that the vines are giving up the fruit it's time to cook. Garlic and basil are components of the sauce and of course olive oil.
I will try (future tense) your norma way. Thanks for the suggestions. Happy hot summer.
I can’t wait to try this version! I’ve made it in the past cooking the eggplant with olive oil and the it just winds up greasy little nuggets. Thank you for doing the testing to avoid this outcome.
Eggplants I think used to be more bitter, which is why older recipes said to salt them in advance. But I haven't had a bitter eggplant in, well, decades. You could use Japanese eggplants which tend to have a softer skin.
It’s hot in Boston today with a dew point of close to 79% so no oven for dinner tonight. I have no problem boiling water for pasta and plan to make penne with tuna and olives. You’ve got to eat well even through the heat of summer! Being a restaurant cook sounds like basic training; once you’ve been through that you can handle anything!
I stumbled across Pasta alla Norma a few yrs ago when faced with lots of eggplant. I always have roasted the eggplant & love this dish. I use the semolina pasta as it's just a better bite! Trying to explain to friends that you cannot tell that this dish is vegetarian because it's so good has been a hill to climb. BTW, I love my meat, too!
Bonjour David, I made this last night and it was delicious! I could not find ricotta salata in any of the little Italian food shops in Rennes. The one I thought most likely to carry it was closed for their congé annuel. I found a nice pecorino that had peppercorns in it that worked nicely though in one of the neighbourhood fromageries. For the tomato sauce I used a jar of "Sauce tomate Thym IGP Provence" by Champlat en Provence that I found at my Biocoop. While I was there I picked up a bag of pasta that I think you had recommended once. I only made a third of the recipe, since I was cooking for two, and we still had some leftover for today's lunch! Thanks again for the recipe!
Glad you liked it! The original recipe said it make 4 to 6 servings, and like you, we had leftovers, which were good the next day... !
Loved the simplicity of this recipe. It was delicious as I used more oil and salt than I ordinarily would (not a regular feature of our abstemious home cooking)!
Pasta alla Norma is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I rarely make it because frying in my open plan kitchen is not fun. I will try this method instead.
I'm not a fan of frying at home due to the mess and the small, although having an induction stove, clean up is a lot easier. Still, once you add the tomato sauce, etc, the oven-roasted eggplant are pretty good too !
I just roasted an eggplant that was cubed. And zuck and onion and tomato. They can be salad or go on pasta.
Delicious recipe. I’m a big fan of Rummo pasta.😎
I love it when you share a recipe and I have all the ingredients. I used local pasta - Pastaficio and grilled Japanese eggplants harvested from my garden, plus my husband's fantastic homemade red sauce.
Because I used feta and not ricotta, I'll call it pasta alla Cinzia.
Thanks for the inspiration, David!
i like using chinese or dominican eggplant instead of the italian
i remember many decades ago there was a heat wave garbage strike subway strike in Nyc and the kitchen was hot that in 2 hours your uniform was soaked
That jarred Mutti with basil is a tasty, easily accessible option
Yes, I buy their canned tomato puree as well. (Their tomato paste in a tube, too!)
This week I will be making sun gold tomato pasta sauce. It's become a favorite for me, and now that the vines are giving up the fruit it's time to cook. Garlic and basil are components of the sauce and of course olive oil.
I will try (future tense) your norma way. Thanks for the suggestions. Happy hot summer.
I can’t wait to try this version! I’ve made it in the past cooking the eggplant with olive oil and the it just winds up greasy little nuggets. Thank you for doing the testing to avoid this outcome.
What is your position on peeling the eggplant or not? I notice this recipe it has skin on but I’ve always heard it’s bitter.
Eggplants I think used to be more bitter, which is why older recipes said to salt them in advance. But I haven't had a bitter eggplant in, well, decades. You could use Japanese eggplants which tend to have a softer skin.
It’s hot in Boston today with a dew point of close to 79% so no oven for dinner tonight. I have no problem boiling water for pasta and plan to make penne with tuna and olives. You’ve got to eat well even through the heat of summer! Being a restaurant cook sounds like basic training; once you’ve been through that you can handle anything!
LOVE this pasta. Left another comment but don't know where it went.
David, I really hope you'll give yourself 6 months in Sicily! It will be great content for your blog, and life is short!!!
I stumbled across Pasta alla Norma a few yrs ago when faced with lots of eggplant. I always have roasted the eggplant & love this dish. I use the semolina pasta as it's just a better bite! Trying to explain to friends that you cannot tell that this dish is vegetarian because it's so good has been a hill to climb. BTW, I love my meat, too!