🍆 Paccheri alla Norma
Paccheri alla Norma is the Sicilian classic pasta alla Norma made with wide paccheri tubes. Fried cubes of aubergine are folded into a simple tomato and basil sauce, and the dish is finished with grated ricotta salata — a firm, salty aged ricotta. The result is soft, sweet and savoury, with silky aubergine against the bite of the pasta.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 320 g paccheri
- 2 medium aubergines, cubed
- 500 g tomato passata or chopped tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 60 g ricotta salata, grated
- A handful of basil leaves, salt
Method
- Salt the aubergine cubes, rest them for 20 minutes, then pat dry.
- Fry the aubergine in 3 tbsp oil until golden and soft, then drain.
- Cook the garlic in the remaining oil, add the tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes; stir in half the aubergine and the basil.
- Cook the paccheri until al dente, toss with the sauce and top with the rest of the aubergine and the ricotta salata.
How to make it lighter
- Aubergine soaks up oil — roast it in the oven brushed with oil instead of frying.
- Use half the ricotta salata; it is salty and strong, so a little goes far.
- Every tablespoon of olive oil is about 120 kcal, so measure it rather than pouring.
History
Pasta alla Norma comes from Catania in Sicily. The story goes that it was named after Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma — Bellini was born in Catania — as a way of praising the dish as a masterpiece.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Paccheri alla Norma and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →