The iconic Sicilian recipe where culinary and operatic traditions harmoniously meet.
2 people
1
Wash the eggplant, remove the stem, and slice it into rounds about 3 millimeters thick. Cut each round in half. Place the slices in a colander and sprinkle them generously with salt. Let them drain for 30 minutes to release excess moisture, then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Fry the slices in a skillet with a generous amount of good-quality olive oil until golden and tender. Set aside on absorbent paper.
2
In a sauté pan, combine the olive oil, basil stems, and the grated half clove of garlic. As soon as they start to sizzle and release their aroma, add the Mutti Passata Tomato Purée. Season with salt and pepper, tear the basil leaves by hand and stir them in. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 10 minutes.
3
Cook the maccheroni in plenty of salted boiling water until very al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta directly into the sauce to finish cooking for the final 2 minutes. Fold in half of the fried eggplant slices and toss well to combine. If needed, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce and help it emulsify.
4
Once the pasta is perfectly cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the grated Sicilian ricotta salata. Mix thoroughly to coat.
5
Plate the pasta and top with the remaining fried eggplant, a final dusting of ricotta salata, and a few fresh basil leaves.
Pasta alla Norma is one of the most iconic dishes of Sicilian cuisine. It was born in Catania, a city steeped in culinary and cultural traditions. The name of the dish is said to be linked to the renowned Catanese playwright Nino Martoglio, who, upon tasting it for the first time, famously exclaimed: “Chista è ‘na vera Norma!”, “This is a true Norma!” With that, he declared it a masterpiece worthy of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma, Bellini himself being a native of Catania. This anecdote cemented the dish’s connection to the city’s artistic heritage, elevating it to a symbol of Sicilian culinary tradition.
The ingredients in Pasta alla Norma are simple yet deeply representative of Sicily. The eggplant, often regarded as the queen of Mediterranean vegetables, plays the starring role. For this recipe, we chose Mutti’s Passata Siciliana, a sauce with a sweet, opulent taste that forms the heart of the dish. To finish, fresh basil and ricotta salata, with its bold and distinctly savory flavor, complete the plate and give it an unmistakable character.
Attention to detail, the use of high-quality tomatoes, the careful slicing of the eggplant, and its frying in fragrant olive oil, is the key to the success of this dish. Pasta alla Norma is a tribute to the generosity of Mediterranean cuisine: a timeless culinary masterpiece created from simple, humble ingredients.
