Pasta alla Norma
6 servings
60 minutes
The most popular pasta in Sicily. There are different versions of its origin: according to one of them, alla Norma was first served on the day of the premiere of Bellini's opera "Norma" and turned out to be so successful that it became popular. This is not surprising - the recipe for pasta is ingenious and simple: ripe tomatoes, fleshy eggplants, parmesan and penne. And a little ricotta, the fragility of which should not be forgotten, so it should be added to the pasta strictly before serving.
1
Cut part of the skin from the eggplant, leaving longitudinal strips of skin.
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
2
Cut them into cubes, generously salt, pour water, and let sit for 20 minutes.
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
- Salt: to taste
3
Then rinse with running water, squeeze out, and place on paper towels.
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
4
Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or deep skillet and fry the eggplants until golden brown.
- Vegetable oil: 500 ml
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
5
Lay the eggplants on paper towels again to get rid of excess oil.
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
6
In a clean skillet, heat olive oil and sauté thinly sliced garlic with chili flakes for 20–30 seconds.
- Olive oil: 50 ml
- Garlic: 2 cloves
- Chili flakes: 0.5 teaspoon
7
Add tomatoes, salt them, and crush the tomatoes with a spatula. Cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat.
- Pelati (whole peeled tomatoes): 800 g
- Salt: to taste
8
Boil water for pasta in a large pot. Salt the water in the pot and cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
- Penne: 500 g
- Salt: to taste
9
Place the cooked pasta on top of the tomato sauce, turn off the heat under the pan, add the eggplants, pieces of ricotta, and basil leaves. Mix well.
- Penne: 500 g
- Eggplant: 2 pieces
- Ricotta cheese: 200 g
- Basil: 20 g
10
Serve, sprinkled with grated parmesan.
- Grated Parmesan cheese: 100 g
