It’s hard to imagine Sicilian cooking without eggplant. You find it in every market, in every restaurant and certainly in every home kitchen. Having recently visited Sicily, I remember each eggplant binge fondly — and there were many.

It is always fascinating to see how cuisines and cultures collide. Sicily has been fought over and ruled by many peoples during the last 2,500 years, starting with the ancient Greeks. Each conquering group introduced ingredients from its home turf, adding layers to an ever- evolving local cuisine: The Greeks planted grapes and olives, the Romans contributed wheat.

But it wasn’t until the early Middle Ages, under Byzantine and Muslim rule, that eggplant became part of the everyday diet. Eggplant, originally cultivated in South Asia, had long been a staple of Arab cookery; now it is popular throughout most of the Mediterranean. The Spanish introduced tomatoes and peppers from the New World, two other ingredients that now lie at the heart of Sicilian cooking.

Sicilian cuisine today is varied, with beloved regional recipes and all manner of extravagant food for feast days, as well as incredible fish and shellfish from the coastline. But a recurring theme in daily cooking is the use of a few inexpensive, common ingredients: olive oil, eggplant, tomato and pasta, usually with a pinch of peperoncino, crushed hot red pepper. These are down-home, primal flavors, emblematic of so-called cucina povera, in which simple and delicious meals are made on the cheap.

Eggplant often stands in for meat. Slices dipped in breadcrumbs and pan-fried in olive oil replace lamb chops or are rolled with cheese to make involtini. Eggplant salads, pickles, pasta dishes; eggplant stewed, stuffed, grilled — you find all these and more in Sicily.

Two of the most famous eggplant dishes are pasta alla Norma and eggplant Parmigiana. For each there are countless variations. Here I offer my own take, inspired by my travels.

Pasta alla Norma is humble, traditional and justly famous. The 19th-century composer Vincenzo Bellini is said to have adored it with such a passion that the dish was eventually named after his opera “Norma.” Egg­plant cubes are fried in olive oil, added to a simple basil- infus­ed tomato sauce, then tossed with pasta. Some cooks fry large slices of eggplant and lay them over the pasta or ring the platter with them instead.

Eggplant Parmigiana is often blanketed in tomato sauce, which makes this tomato-free version rather unusual. A dozen anchovy fillets scattered on top melt into the crisp breadcrumb-and-cheese topping, providing a sharp contrast to the sweetness of the eggplant.

These dishes taste best with spanking-fresh eggplant. Seize the moment at the market.

Classic Pasta alla Norma

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
• 1 small onion, diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 12 basil leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
• 4 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes with juice, fresh or canned
• 3 or 4 small eggplants (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pound pasta, such as penne, rigatoncini or spaghetti
• 1 cup grated ricotta salata (salted ricotta cheese)
• 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs, preferably homemade

Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in garlic, red pepper and basil leaves; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, stir and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings. (Sauce may be prepared up to 2 days in advance.)

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover pot.

Heat a wide cast-iron pan over medium-high. Add 4 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is wavy, fill pan with a single layer of eggplant. Turn eggplant and brown nicely on all sides. Lower heat as necessary to maintain an even temperature so eggplant doesn’t burn. Cook remaining eggplant in batches, removing cooked eggplant to a plate. Season finished eggplant with salt and pepper. (Eggplant may also be roasted at 400 degrees, lightly drizzled with oil, about 20 minutes.)

Bring sauce to a simmer. Add eggplant to sauce and gently stir to combine. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until a little firmer than normal. Reserve a cup of pasta cooking water, then drain pasta and add to sauce.

Toss pasta and sauce; let cook 1 minute more. Thin if necessary with a little pasta cooking water.

Sprinkle with grated ricotta salata and breadcrumbs. Garnish with torn or whole basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

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Baked Eggplant With Ricotta, Mozzarella and Anchovy

• Extra-virgin olive oil, to grease pan
• 3 or 4 small eggplants (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 12 ounces fresh ricotta
• 1/2 pound smoked or fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 2 cups provolone cheese, coarsely grated (about 1/2 pound)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
• 12 anchovy fillets
• 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Season eggplant on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange half the eggplant in a layer in dish, overlapping slightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with red pepper and scatter onion slices evenly over surface.

Distribute ricotta in little blobs evenly over surface, then arrange half the mozzarella over the ricotta. Sprinkle with half of the provolone.

Repeat with a second layer of eggplant and cheeses. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and pecorino. Arrange anchovy fillets over top and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake uncovered 45 minutes to 1 hour, until eggplant is tender when pierced with a fork and top is crisp and golden. (If top is browning too quickly, tent with foil and reduce heat to 350 degrees.)

Dust with oregano and let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serves 6 to 8.

Nutritional information unavailable.

And to drink …

While eggplant is a central to both these recipes, the different preparations suggest different wines. The pasta alla Norma will go best with a good red that is fruity but not too fruity, acidic but not too acidic. I thought first, naturally, of a Sicilian red, either a nerello mascalese from the Mount Etna region or a fresh frappato from the Vittoria area. A dolcetto from northwestern Italy would also work well, as would a fresh, restrained zinfandel. While the baked eggplant would also go well with one of the Sicilian reds, a good Chianti Classico would be delicious.

­— Eric Asimov, New York Times

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