The scents and flavours of Sicily, a magical and magnetic land, sunny and beautiful from North to South and from West to East. This recipe originates from the East, pasta Alla Norma, one of the symbols of the island cuisine, together with cannoli. This Catania speciality was made as a culinary homage to the most beautiful work of the famous composer Vincenzo Bellini: the Norma.
A tasty pasta dish topped with fresh tomatoes and a cascade of fried eggplant. But it wouldn't be pasta Alla Norma without the addition of fresh basil leaves and a generous grating of salted ricotta added at the end of cooking: all the Mediterranean aromas combined in a single dish!
Pasta Alla Norma is a dish with a unique and enveloping taste, a vegetarian dish, prepared with simple and genuine ingredients as Sicilian mothers, grandmothers and aunts still do: a true triumph of flavours, taste after taste. Those who love meat, on the other hand, can try the Pollo Alla Norma, an unusual and appetizing variation of this traditional pasta.
FOR 2 PEOPLE
Ingredients
- Rigatoni Pasta 350 g
- Salted ricotta 200 g
- Eggplant 500 g
- Extra virgin olive oil 1 drizzle
- 2 cloves garlic
- Pachino tomatoes 850 g
- Fresh basil 10g
-
Salt up to taste
FOR FRYING
- Extra virgin olive oil q.s.
Let's Start
To prepare the Pasta Alla Norma, rinse and dry the Pachino tomatoes and cut them in quarters. In a pan pour a drizzle of oil and fry two clean and whole garlic cloves, so in case you wish you can remove them later. When the garlic has fried a few moments, add the Pachino tomatoes and cook over with very low heat, covering with lid; cook for about twenty minutes until the tomatoes are very soft and have released the sauce. Once ready, pass them to obtain a juicy and smooth pulp.
Transfer everything to the pan and put some salt and a pinch of sugar; cook for another 10-15 minutes until it has shrunk. Then put the water to boil with salt. Meanwhile, wash the aubergines, dry well and cut them into slices of a few mm.
Fry the aubergines in abundant extra virgin olive oil heated. Once fried lay them in a kitchen towel to absorb the oil in excess. Then add salt to taste. Cook the pasta al dente and when it is almost ready, pour the basil leaves into the sauce over the heat off, stir and add the drained pasta directly into the pan. Stir well to flavour.
Transfer the pasta to serving plates, season with generous slices of fried aubergine each portion, finally sprinkle with Salted Ricotta or Parmesan cheese. Serve your Pasta Alla Norma with a few slices of aubergine placed in the centre of the table so that if necessary, diners can add at will!
Buon Appetito...