Name: Rigatoni alla Norma (Sicilian Eggplant Pasta From Catania)
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: Salt; 4 Japanese eggplants or 1 medium globe eggplant; ½ cup (or as needed) olive oil; 4 cloves garlic, finely minced; ½ pound rigatoni; freshly ground pepper; 1½ cups Tomato Sauce; 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 6 large black olives, pitted and-quartered; 12 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Preparation info

Serves
2

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Mediterranean Kitchen

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 1998

About

Simple, tasty, and one of our most requested pastas. We prefer to make this with the sweeter Japanese eggplant, but it could be made with globe eggplant too. This pasta is named after Bellini’s opera, Norma, and is she popular! Bellini was born in Catania. A case of local boy making good and the local opera heroine honored with a pasta named after her.