Wash and dry the eggplant well. Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/4 inch lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt and leave slices to drain for at least 15 minutes.
Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer them to a saucepan with oil, salt, 2 cloves of poached garlic, and basil. Allow it to cook for about 30 minutes.
Remove the garlic (if you like more flavor, leave it in the tomatoes);
Purée the tomatoes with an immersion blender at a very low speed.
Transfer sauce to a frying pan, add the last clove of garlic and a few basil leaves.
Fry eggplant slices at 350°F (180°C) in extra virgin olive oil, drain them, and pat them well with paper towels. Add slices to tomato sauce.
Cook the pasta al dente in boiling salted water (3 liters of water with 1.5 tablesoons (30g) of salt). Drain when ready.
Sauté the pasta in the pan with the sauce and eggplant over high heat for a couple of minutes.
Flavor it with remaining basil, divided among the plates, and add a generous amount of grated salted ricotta on each plate.
Serve the plates of Pasta Alla Norma while very hot.
Notes
Variations:
Eggplant: The eggplant can be cut into cubes if you prefer. Grill the eggplant or bake it in the oven to make it lighter. If you don't have eggplant, you can use zucchini! The process is the same; you can fry the slices or grill them.
Cottage Cheese: You can also replace the salted ricotta with fresh cottage cheese.
Spicy: Add whole or dried chili pepper to the sauce if you like it spicy.
Vegan: Replace the salted ricotta salata with tofu, preferably smoked. Crumble it over the hot pasta.
Make Norma Plain: Don't add tomatoes if you are not a tomato lover!
Make Ahead Instructions: Pasta Alla Norma should be freshly prepared and served hot with the melted cheese. The only item you can prepare in advance is the tomato sauce, which you can keep for about two days in the refrigerator.Storage Instructions: Keep Pasta Alla Norma in the refrigerator. Leftovers can also be eaten cold the next day. It will be like a delicious pasta salad!