Spicy Eggplant Pasta

5 from 5 votes

Pasta alla Norma is a spicy eggplant pasta recipe with a garlic tomato sauce and fresh basil! It's a 30-minute meatless dish that's made with everyday ingredients and has a kick.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: eggplant pasta sauce, spicy eggplant pasta

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium eggplant cut into 1" pieces
8 ounces uncooked pasta
4 cloves garlic minced
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste, see note
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley chopped
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or ricotta salata (see note)
1 large handful fresh basil torn
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Warm the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant pieces and sauté for about 10-12 minutes, or until they're cooked through and lightly browned, stirring fairly often. If the pan gets really dry, add in some more oil.
Meanwhile, boil a large pot of salted water and cook your pasta al dente according to package directions.
Turn the heat down to medium, then add the garlic to the skillet and cook for about 20 seconds, stirring constantly.
Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and parsley, and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the sauce simmer until the eggplant and tomatoes have softened (about 5 minutes).
When the pasta is almost ready, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Add a splash of the pasta water to the sauce depending on how saucy you want it (I usually add about 1/4 cup), and then drain the pasta, add it to the skillet, and toss it with the sauce.
Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and basil and gently toss again. Season to taste with salt & pepper and enjoy.

Notes

This dish is quite spicy with the full teaspoon of crushed red pepper! Halve it or even quarter it if you want something more mild.
Traditionally, ricotta salata is used in this recipe, but it can be harder to source than parmesan. Ricotta salata is a dry, crumbly cheese with a similar taste to feta.

Nutrition