Make the kitchen the center of your home with this comforting pasta alla Norma, straight from Chef Lidia Bastianich's cookbook Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine. Lidia is an Emmy award-winning television host, best-selling cookbook author and restaurateur. Her book, coauthored with her daughter Tanya, covers everything from ingredients to techniques to tools, plus more than 400 recipes. Recipe courtesy of Lidia Bastianich.
Ingredients for 6 people
- 1 pound ziti
- 2 large firm eggplants (about 2 pounds total)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 jars (25 oz each) Lidia's Chunky Eggplant Tomato Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
- 8 ounces (1 cup) fresh ricotta cheese or packaged whole-milk ricotta cheese
How to make Ziti alla Norma
- Trim the stems from the eggplants. Remove strips of peel about 1 inch wide, leaving about half the peel intact. Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and toss with the 2 tablespoons kosher salt in a large bowl. Dump into a colander and let drain for 1 hour. Rinse under cool running water, drain thoroughly and pat dry.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with half the olive oil. Turn the eggplant cubes onto the sheet, toss to coat with oil and spread them in an even layer. Bake until very tender and browned, about 25 minutes, turning and stirring gently once or twice so they cook evenly.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the ziti. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scatter in the garlic and cook, shaking the pan, until golden, about 3 minutes. Pour in the tomato-eggplant sauce, add the pepper flakes and season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir the ziti into the boiling water and return to a boil, stirring frequently. When it is al dente, drain the pasta and return it to the pot over low heat. Pour in about half of the sauce and toss lightly to coat. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in ½ cup of the grated cheese and the basil. Add half of the roasted eggplant and toss, then add the ricotta by heaping teaspoonfuls, stirring gently. The ricotta should warm but not blend completely into the sauce.
- Plate the pasta and spoon the reserved sauce over each serving. Divide the remaining roasted eggplant on top, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and serve.
