Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla norma

Duration 1 h 30 min

Difficulty Medium

Region Sicily

Pasta alla norma is a typical recipe from Sicily. This first course which has now entered the Sicilian gastronomic tradition, is based on fried aubergines, tomato, basil and grated salted ricotta. Its origin seems to date back to a particular dinner held in 1920 which was attended by the poet and playwright Martoglio. This marveled at the goodness of this dish, said the phrase “Chista è ‘na vera Norma” in reference to the work of Vincenzo Bellini.

Wine Pairing: Etna Rosso DOC

Ingredients

For 4 people:

• 400 g of Pasta
• 500 g of aubergines
• 1 onion
• 500 gr of ripe tomatoes or Passata
• 100 g of salted ricotta
• 6 basil leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil
• salt

How to Proceed

Take the aubergines, wash them, remove the stem and cut them into small pieces. Put the chunks in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Put a light weight on top and leave the aubergines for about 1 hour. In this time the aubergines will lose both the bitterness and the excess liquid.

If you want to stay in the tradition, use some nice ripe tomatoes for gravy and let’s prepare the tomato puree at the moment. Boil a pot of water and pour the ripe tomatoes (previously washed) into it. Blanch them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain them in a colander. Then pour them into a vegetable mill, thus collecting the tomato puree in a container.

In the meantime, take a small saucepan or saucepan, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a chopped onion. Let it fry for about 4-5 minutes, then after it has browned, add the tomato puree and basil leaves. Season with salt and then put the lid on, leaving the sauce to simmer for about half an hour.

After the hour, take the aubergines into chunks, rinse and dry them with the help of a sheet of absorbent kitchen paper. Then take a nice non-stick pan and after adding a good amount of oil, fry the aubergines, adding a few at a time and removing them as soon as they are golden. Remove them from the frying by dripping them and placing them to dry on a sheet of absorbent paper.

Take a pot of water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, add a pinch of salt and then pour the pasta. After the pasta has cooked, drain it and dress it with the tomato sauce. Add the fried aubergines cut into chunks and a good grating of salted ricotta. Mix all the ingredients well and then garnish each plate of pasta alla norma with a further grating of ricotta salata and basil leaves.

Servite la pasta alla norma ben calda.