Pasta alla Norma is a dish with typically Sicilian flavors. The recipe is attributed to the city of Catania, so much so that it is the symbolic dish of Catania cuisine.
The origin of the dedication to Norma, seems to be an explicit reference to the lyric work of the same name by Vincenzo Bellini rather than to a generic person named “Norma”.
In my version, eggplants are not fried but stewed in the oven. The end result is as amazing as in the fried version but it is much more digestible and gentle on the body 😉
Ingredients
Steps
– slice the eggplants and cut them in small cubes, then season them with a pinch of salt and some extra-virgin olive oil;
– fold a baking tray with baking paper and spread the chopped eggplants onto it, then bake at 180 degrees in static oven for about 20/30 minutes or till light brown;
– remove the baked eggplants from the oven and transfer them into a clean bowl;
– meanwhile, crush the garlic clove and put it onto a large saucepan together with some extra-virgin olive oil;
– put the saucepan onto the stove and bring to heat;
– pour the tomato sauce and add 2 pinches of salt, and some fresh basil leaves then stir well and let the sauce simmer on medium heat till it become creamy;
– cook the maccheroni pasata “al dente” in a deparate pot with salted water;
– add the eggplants to the tomato sauce, drain the pasta and put it in the saucepan with the sauce;
– stir well and finish to cook the pasta for about 30 seconds;
– remove the saucepan from the stove;
– serve topped with grated salted ricotta, a basil leaf and sprinkle of extra-virgin olive oil
Varied doses for servings