Pasta alla Norma, Traditional Recipe

This dish comes from Catania, Sicily, it combines strong flavors of the sultry Sicilian land.

It is suitable for the summer when the key ingredients are well available – tomatoes, eggplant and basil.

It is named after the eponymous passionate opera by Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania.

Ingredients for Pasta alla Norma

• Onion: 1
• Fresh basil: a few leaves
• Eggplant: 1-2
• Olive oil.
• Pepper, salt: to taste.
• Peeled tomatoes: 500-600 gr.
• Salted Ricotta: 150 gr.
• Pasta spaghetti, bavette, tagliatelle, or any other 300 gr.

Recipe for Pasta alla Norma

1. Fry finely chopped onions in a skillet.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, then simmer the sauce until thickened. Before turning off the heat, add some basil.
3. Slice the eggplants crosswise, place them in a colander, sprinkling layers with a little salt.
4. Press the eggplants to facilitate the release of the fluid.
5. About an hour after, fry the eggplant slices in a large amount of olive oil.
6. Spread on paper towels to remove excess oil.
7. Cut the eggplants into strips and add them to the tomato sauce.
8. Cook pasta in salted water. Drain in a colander and place into the sauce. Mix well.
9. Serve sprinkled with grated salted ricotta.