{"id":195561,"title":"Pasta alla Norma with fried eggplant and tomato","modified":"2026-10-30T21:30:27+01:00","plain":"Linguine in a tomato sauce with garlic and basil, topped with golden eggplant slices and grated sheep’s milk cheese.\n\n\n\nPasta 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.\n\n\n\nWhat Is Pasta alla Norma ?\n\n\n\nIt 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.\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\n\n\nFor something similar : Zucchini spaghetti with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.\n\n\n\nThe Origins of Pasta alla Norma\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\n\n\nRicotta 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.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\n\n\nAnother recipe in the same spirit : Eggplant lasagna with feta and pecorino.\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\n\n\nChickpea 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.\n\n\n\nCooking Tips and Serving\n\n\n\nHeat 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.\n\n\n\nAlong the same lines : Tuna pasta salad.\n\n\n\nStrain 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.\n\n\n\nFor everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tPasta alla Norma\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t100 g linguine (or chickpea and soy linguine for a low-carb version)200 ml tomato passata1 to 2 eggplants3 cloves garlic1 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))\t\n\t\n\t\tPour the passata into a saucepan and heat very gently until just below boiling.Thinly slice the garlic and add it to the sauce. Add the basil as well.Wash the eggplant or eggplants and cut into large slices a little over half a centimeter thick.Arrange the slices on a plate and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for just under fifteen minutes.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.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.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).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.\t\n\t\n\t\tEquipment: pot, saucepan, small sieve, large PFAS-free frying pan (or cast iron if you're used to cooking with it), mandoline (or grater or cheese plane), paper towels.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalItalienne","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}