Pasta alla Norma

Legend says that this iconic Sicilian dish was created in the 1800s after opening night of Bellini's opera Norma. Pasta topped with eggplant, tomato sauce and ''ricotta Salata'' makes for a hearty vegetarian meal that can be whipped together in under an hour. A few simple ingredients for an unforgettable result: here is my recipe for pasta alla Norma, one of the most beloved first courses of the Sicilian tradition of all time. Generally, I prefer to prepare the pasta alla norma siciliana using short pasta: penne, pennette, rigatoni. If you prefer you can use the sauce alla norma to prepare delicious spaghetti alla Norma or paccheri alla Norma. 

In short, you will have understood that pasta with Sicilian eggplant is really a riot of flavors, so tasty and rich, that will make you fall in love!

Ingredients

4 servings

1 Kg San Marzano tomatoes

400 g eggplant

350 g short pasta 

150 g salted ricotta

basil

half an onion

extra virgin olive oil

salt

Procedure

Step 1

For the pasta alla Norma recipe, coarsely chop the onion and fry it in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Prepare an aromatic bunch with about ten basil leaves.

Step 2

Add the bunch of basil in the saucepan and, after a minute, also the tomatoes, add salt and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the basil a couple of minutes before turning off the heat. Pass the tomato sauce with a vegetable mill.

Step 3

Wash the aubergines and cut them into 3-4 mm thick slices; Fry them in plenty of hot oil for 1-2 minutes.

Step 4

Cook the celery in plenty of boiling salted water. Dress them with the tomato sauce and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, distribute them on the plates and complete them with fried eggplant, a few basil leaves and a generous grated salted ricotta.

Step 5

To taste, enrich the pasta with the zest of half a lemon and cherry tomatoes, roasted brightly in a pan or baked in the oven at 100 ° C for 50 minutes with lemon zest.