🍆 Penne alla Norma

Name: Penne alla Norma
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy · Sicily · Catania
Ingredients: 320 g penne; 2 medium eggplants, cubed; 400 g ripe tomatoes, chopped; 2 garlic cloves; 60 g ricotta salata, grated; A handful of basil leaves; 3 tbsp olive oil; Salt

Origin: Italy · Sicily · Catania

525kcal

per serving · 350 g

150kcal

per 100 g

19 gProtein5.5 g / 100 g

16 gFat4.5 g / 100 g

84 gCarbs24 g / 100 g

Penne alla Norma is a Sicilian pasta of penne in a tomato sauce with soft fried eggplant, torn basil and a snowfall of grated ricotta salata, a firm, salty aged ricotta. The eggplant turns creamy and sweet against the tangy tomato, and the cheese adds a sharp, savoury finish. It is served hot as a hearty main course.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

Not veganbecause of: ricotta salata

Contains glutenbecause of: penne pasta

Contains dairybecause of: ricotta salata

Not keto24 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

penne pastaeggplanttomatoricotta salatabasil

Recipe

4 servings45 min

Ingredients

320 g penne
2 medium eggplants, cubed
400 g ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves
60 g ricotta salata, grated
A handful of basil leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Method

Salt the eggplant cubes, leave for 20 minutes, then pat dry.
Fry or roast the eggplant in 2 tbsp olive oil until golden and soft.
Warm the remaining oil with the garlic, add the tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes; season with salt.
Cook the penne in salted water until al dente and drain.
Toss the pasta with the sauce and most of the eggplant, then top with the rest, basil and ricotta salata.

How to make it lighter

Roast the eggplant in the oven instead of frying it — eggplant soaks up a lot of oil, and 1 tbsp oil is about 120 kcal.
Ricotta salata is salty and strong, so a small amount goes a long way.
Use more eggplant and tomato and less pasta for a lighter plate.

History

Pasta alla Norma comes from Catania in eastern Sicily. The name is usually said to honour Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma — the story goes that a Catanese writer praised the dish by calling it 'a real Norma', meaning a masterpiece. Eggplant, tomato and ricotta salata remain its defining trio.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Penne alla Norma and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar 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 →