Linguine in a tomato sauce with garlic and basil, topped with golden eggplant slices and grated sheep’s milk cheese.
Pasta alla Norma arrives steaming hot, the linguine glistening with tomato sauce, topped with eggplant slices fried until golden in olive oil and a snowy dusting of ricotta salata or pecorino. Fresh basil finishes the plate. This simple Sicilian dish serves 2 and is ready in 25 minutes. With its low-carb option, it joins my collection of keto breads and pasta.
What Is Pasta alla Norma ?
It is pasta served with passata gently heated with garlic and basil, then strained through a sieve, along with fried eggplant slices and a hard sheep’s milk cheese, grated or thinly shaved. The eggplant should be golden on the outside and tender inside.
The sauce stays loose enough to coat every strand of linguine. The cheese, added just before serving, brings saltiness and an umami-like flavor to balance the sweetness of the tomato.
The Origins of Pasta alla Norma
The dish comes from Catania, in eastern Sicily, and takes its name from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini, a native of the city. It brings together ingredients from the island : eggplant, tomato, garlic, basil, and sheep’s milk cheese.
Ricotta salata is the traditional cheese : a salted, pressed, and dried ricotta, firm enough to grate. You will mostly find it at Italian grocery stores or cheese shops ; the more widely available pecorino makes a good substitute, with an intensity that depends on how long it has been aged.
The Main Ingredients
The recipe calls for 100 g of linguine, 200 ml of tomato passata, 1 to 2 eggplants, 3 garlic cloves, and a generous handful of fresh basil, plus a few leaves to finish. You will also need 75 to 100 g of pecorino or ricotta salata and 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil.
The sea salt is used twice : 1 tablespoon to draw moisture out of the eggplant, then 2 pinches for seasoning. For another way to cook this vegetable, see my air fryer eggplant.
Chickpea and soy linguine can replace regular linguine for a low-carb version : it cooks in 4 minutes, has a firmer texture, and provides 10 g of net carbs per serving. For other dishes, konjac noodles offer an even lighter base.
Cooking Tips and Serving
Heat the passata very gently, just below a boil, with the thinly sliced garlic and basil. Cut the eggplant into large slices a little over 0.5 cm thick, salt them, and leave them to release their moisture for just under 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shave the cheese into thin slices with a mandoline, or grate it with a fine grater. Pat the eggplant dry, fry until golden on both sides in a few spoonfuls of oil, then drain on paper towels.
Strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the garlic and basil. Cook the pasta for the time indicated on the package, drain, and coat every strand with sauce. Divide among plates, arrange the eggplant on top, sprinkle with cheese, and finish with a few basil leaves. Serve immediately, with a green salad if you like.
For everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.
Ingredients
- 100 g linguine or chickpea and soy linguine for a low-carb version
- 200 ml tomato passata
- 1 to 2 eggplants
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 generous handful basil fresh, plus a few leaves for garnish
- 75 to 100 g pecorino or ricotta salata
- 50 ml olive oil extra virgin
- Celtic sea salt (1 tablespoon for the eggplants, plus 2 pinches)
Instructions
- Pour the passata into a saucepan and heat very gently until just below boiling.200 ml tomato passata
- Thinly slice the garlic and add it to the sauce. Add the basil as well.3 cloves garlic, 1 generous handful basil
- Wash the eggplant or eggplants and cut into large slices a little over half a centimeter thick.1 to 2 eggplants
- Arrange the slices on a plate and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for just under fifteen minutes.Celtic sea salt
- Meanwhile, grate the cheese. I use a mandoline to get thin slices. You can also grate it with a finer grater, or use a cheese plane, although the slices will be a little thicker.75 to 100 g pecorino
- Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the frying pan. Cook the eggplant until golden on both sides. Then let the slices drain on paper towels.50 ml olive oil
- Strain the sauce through a sieve to remove all the garlic and basil.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water for the time indicated on the package (4 minutes for chickpea and soy linguine).100 g linguine
- Drain the pasta. Add it to the sauce. Make sure every strand is coated in sauce.
- Remove the eggplant from the frying pan and let it drain on paper towels.
- Divide the pasta among plates. Arrange the eggplant on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Finish with a few basil leaves.
