July 2, 2012

Pasta alla Norma: Rigatoni in a Tomato & Eggplant Sauce

Rigatoni alla Norma (Tomato & Eggplant Sauce)

A classic from Catania on the eastern shore of Sicily, this wildly popular pasta took on its name in honor of favorite-son Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma 180 years ago. You’ll find it on menus all over Sicilia now.

A couple of you asked about this dish so I thought I’d make it. It’s almost 2 years since my last exquisite week in Sicilia and I’m in the mood for a taste memory of that beautiful island.

The shiny black-purple eggplant in the market are superb. Get the firm small to medium ones. They don’t have many seeds. Even though it’s July we won’t have good local Bay Area tomatoes for about 6 weeks, so I used imported San Marzano tomatoes from Campania.

My Rigatoni alla Norma is inspired by my Catania cousins-in-law. The creamy tomato-eggplant sauce coats each fat pasta tube. The grated salty ricotta salata (dried ricotta cheese) sprinkled on top balances the sweetness of the sauce. Celebrate summer with this easy 2-step recipe. It brought me back to the heat and sun of Sicily’s Ionian coast eating Pasta alla Norma al fresco with a glass of Nero d’Avola wine.

If you’re enjoying a summer bounty of local tomatoes at the height of flavor here’s my fresh San Marzano tomato sauce video. San Marzano tomatoes are best but you can use local Roma or other tomato varieties to make a great sauce in place of one made with imported canned San Marzano tomatoes.

Buon appetito!

Rigatoni alla Norma (Pasta with a Tomato-Eggplant Sauce)

Ingredients

1 pound or 500 grams imported rigatoni pasta
2 small-medium eggplant
28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand
2 cloves garlic, smashed
8 leaves fresh basil
8 tablespoons EVOO
sea salt to taste

Cooking Directions

Put on a large pot of salted water to boil.
Cut off the stem end and tip of the eggplant and cut in half-inch slices.
Layer the eggplant in a colander. Sprinkle each layer with salt. Put the colander over a bowl to catch the bitter liquid that seeps from the eggplant. Let drain for about an hour.
Wash the eggplant well to remove the excess salt and dry them on paper towels.
Heat 5 tablespoons of EVOO (or canola oil). When it begins to ripple fry the eggplant slices in batches to a light golden brown.
Drain on paper towel and set the fried eggplant aside.
Put the San Marzano tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with you hand. Discard any stems or skins.
Put a large saute pan or pot over a medium-high flame. Add 3 tablespoons of EVOO and the garlic and sauté the garlic until lightly browned.
Tear the basil leaves and sprinkle into the hot oil to toast the basil briefly.
Quickly add the tomatoes and mix the sauce well.
Briskly simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Add the eggplant slices and mix well with the sauce.
In the meantime put the rigatoni into the boiling water and cook until al dente.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Mix well.
Grate about 1/4 cup of ricotta salata. Tear some additional basil leaves and add to the pasta to freshen the basil flavor. Mix the pasta well to incorporate the cheese and basil.
Serve in warm bowls or plates. Top each serving with a sprinkle of grated ricotta salata and lightly sprinkle with EVOO.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4-6.

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