Eggplant fried hard in hot oil. Tomato cooked down to something worth the name. Ricotta salata grated heavy at the end. Catania gave this dish to the world and asked for nothing back.
The critical move is keeping the fried eggplant separate from the sauce until the very last moment. It goes on top after plating, not into the pan, so it stays crisp against the sauced pasta.
We use penne here. It holds the tomato sauce well, and in Sicily both rigatoni and penne are equally at home with this sauce.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Dice the tomatoes. Warm 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and the sugar if the tomatoes are under-ripe. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick. Add the basil, torn.
Pass the sauce through a food mill or fine sieve and return to the pan. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Cut the eggplants into 3/4 in cubes.
Heat the frying oil in a deep saucepan to 350°F. Fry the eggplant in two batches for 4-5 minutes each until golden. Drain on a wire rack. Season with salt immediately.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the penne for 11 minutes.
Drain the penne, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Toss the pasta in the tomato sauce over medium heat for 1 minute, loosening with pasta water as needed.
Plate the pasta. Top each bowl with the fried eggplant, added post-plating to keep it crisp.
Grate ricotta salata generously over each plate and finish with a fresh basil leaf.
You made Pasta alla Norma. Time to eat.
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Fry the eggplant in neutral oil, not olive oil. Olive oil has too low a smoke point for this job. And drain on a wire rack, not paper towels: paper steams the cubes. You want crisp.
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