There pasta to the norm it is one of the most well-known Sicilian first courses: pasta such as rigatoni or mezze sleeves rigate, seasoned with a delicious sauce based on tomatoes, basil and garlic, enriched with thin slices of aubergines fried in boiling oil and flavored with a generous grating of ricotta salata. In Sicily pasta alla norma is usually prepared on Sunday and, even if it is born in Catania, is now widespread throughout the island and can be found in all restaurants, together with other delicacies such as pasta ‘ncasciata, panelle and caponata. Making it at home with our recipe is really simple and quick and you will feel immediately transported to the sunny streets of beautiful Sicily!

PREPARATION

1

To prepare normal pasta, start from the main ingredient: aubergine. Wash it carefully, dry it with absorbent paper and remove the stalk. Using a sharp knife or mandolin, cut it into very thin slices.

2

Place the aubergine slices in a colander and place the colander over a bowl to collect excess water. Sprinkle the aubergine with a teaspoon of coarse salt and leave it to rest for about 15 minutes.

3

While the aubergine purges, prepare the tomato sauce. Wash the tomatoes, cut the stem and divide them in half. Pour them into a pan, add a level teaspoon of salt, three peeled garlic cloves and a sprig of basil.

4

Pour them into a pan, add a level teaspoon of salt, three peeled garlic cloves and a sprig of basil.

5

Cook the tomatoes over a very low heat for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, take care of cooking the aubergines: heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and wait until it becomes very hot, without letting it burn. The ideal oil temperature should be around 160°C. Dip a few slices of aubergines at a time and fry them on both sides for 2-3 minutes.

6

Place a pan full of water on the stove and turn on the heat. Let the water come to the boil, add a teaspoon of salt, then pour in the pasta and cook according to the time indicated on the package.

7

Remove the garlic from the pan with the tomatoes, transfer them to a bowl and blend them completely with an immersion blender until you obtain a smooth cream.

8

Pour the tomato puree into a pan, add a clove of garlic, plenty of basil and a pinch of salt. Turn on the low heat and leave to flavor for about 10 minutes.

9

Drain the pasta directly into the pan with the tomato puree, sauté it for 1 minute and distribute among the plates. Add the fried aubergines.

10

Grate plenty of salted ricotta over the pasta, garnish with fresh basil and serve immediately. 14

Tips and tricks

Traditionally, once cooked, the tomatoes should be pureed with a to make the sauce food mill. However, if you don’t have one you can use the mixer, possibly removing any residue of skin by filtering the sauce through a narrow mesh strainer.

If the tomato sauce is a little acidic you can add 1 teaspoon of sugar and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. As a type of tomatoes, tradition dictates that i ribbed people from Cataniabut you can also use other types of ripe red tomatoes.

You can replace dried pasta with fresh pasta and you can also use long pasta, such as spaghetti.

Salting the aubergines to drain them is not a fundamental operation, you can also fry them directly as soon as they are cut, but we advise you to let them rest so that they lose all the excess water, which would be bitter. Furthermore, this way they will be easier to digest.

storage

There pasta to the norm must be consumed immediately. If there is any leftover, it can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 1 day, in an airtight container. We recommend heating it in the oven for a few minutes, in grill mode, before serving it.

We do not recommend freezing it.

Curiosity

Pasta alla norma was born in Catania as a tribute toopera by Vincenzo Bellini, a composer from the city, who wrote the two-act opera “Norma” in the 19th century. When the playwright Nino Martoglio he tasted this dish made of pasta, fried aubergines, tomato and salted ricotta, he told the cook that it was worthy of being called “Norma” because it was as beautiful and good as Bellini’s work. From that moment the recipe was known as “pasta alla norma” and is today one of the most loved recipes in Sicily and throughout Italy.