Which Sicilian pasta dish combines eggplant, tomato, basil, and salted ricotta?

The Sicilian pasta dish combining eggplant, tomato, basil, and salted ricotta is pasta alla Norma.

Pasta alla Norma is a specialty of Catania in eastern Sicily. Its usual preparation combines pasta with tomato sauce, fried or roasted eggplant, basil, and grated ricotta salata, a firm salted ricotta cheese. The eggplant supplies richness, while tomato and basil provide acidity and freshness.

The dish’s name is commonly linked to the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania. According to the familiar story, the playwright Nino Martoglio praised the dish as a “Norma,” comparing it with the opera’s excellence. The exact origin story is traditional rather than firmly documented.

Ricotta salata is important to the canonical name and flavor, so fresh sweet ricotta is not an exact substitute. Pasta alla Norma is also different from pasta alla puttanesca, whose defining ingredients include olives, capers, anchovies, and tomato.