Pasta alla Norma is one of the most beloved traditional Sicilian dishes, a culinary masterpiece that encapsulates the authentic flavors of the Mediterranean. A tasty, vegetarian dish prepared with simple and genuine ingredients. This simple and tasty recipe originated in Catania as a homage to Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “Norma”. A dish that contains the flavors and aromas of the Sicilian land. A tribute to the art of Vincenzo Bellini.
Origins and History
The history and the recipe of Catanese pasta alla Norma. Let's take a dip in the past. We are in 1920. Catania, Via Etnea, Musco-Pandolfini house. The great Catania actor Angelo Musco lives with his sister Anna, married to Giuseppe Pandolfini. The couple has two children, the character actor Turi and Janu, the first actor (later owner of a well-known clothing store). Janu is married to the lady Saridda D'Urso. Lunch begins, between exchanges and first forkfuls. And it is precisely that day that Martoglio, poet and gourmet, congratulates the cook by exclaiming: "Mrs. Saridda, this is a real Norma!»
Thanks to this sentence Nino Martoglio is credited with having baptized the popular Catania pasta with the nickname“ alla Norma ”. According to other sources, the story is handed down that pasta alla Norma from Catania was presented for the first time on the evening of its debut. world of opera in two acts "Norma"By Bellini, 26 December of the 1831 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Between the two versions, what is certain is the close link between the dish appreciated all over the world and the city of Catania. The tribute to the Catanese Swan and his work. A double-ended bond. Poetry and the intertwining of perfect notes that come together in a marriage of flavors.
Pasta alla Norma is synonymous with Mediterranean. So let’s say right away that some of the main ingredients, in terms of origin, are neither Sicilian nor Italian: pasta, tomato, aubergine. Just to remove any ambition of nationalist claim. “Pasta alla norma” was born in Catania, soon becoming, thanks to its success, a popular dish throughout Sicily. The reference seems to be to “Norma”, the famous Opera of the composer Vincenzo Bellini, a fellow countryman of the playwright and of the pasta.
Ingredients
Vediamo gli ingredienti, come prepararla, calorie e valori nutrizionali, alcuni consigli e ipotesi sull’origine del nome. For 4 people: prepare a sauce with 700 g of ripe sauce tomatoes, 1 clove of garlic, 6 basil leaves; cook over low heat for 30 minutes, then pass the sauce through a vegetable mill and put it back on very low heat. Cut into thin slices lengthwise 3 not large aubergines of the elongated type. When the salted water boils cook the pasta, start frying the aubergines in olive oil and put 400 g of spaghetti, cavatiddi or penne in the pot. Grate about 120 g of salted ricotta (or better, make little curls with a fork), dividing it into 2 unequal piles.
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In addition to pasta: tomatoes, salted ricotta, aubergines and basil, all strictly local to maintain that mix of flavors typical of the island.
- Two and a half kilos of tomatoes.
- Fresh basil, maybe from home!
- Take the aubergines, remove the herbaceous part and cut into thick slices lengthwise.
Aubergines
In Sicily we have two varieties of eggplants or aubergines: the oval ones and the rounded ones. These last ones (the pic on the right) are the best and the most used in the kitchen because of their sweeter delicate taste. We call them “tunisine” which means Tunisian, allegedly because they used to come from there.
The aubergines must be strictly black and long (in Catania they are called Turkish), cut into strips and fried in extra virgin olive oil.
THE AUBERGINEA long journey, from Africa to India to Southeast Asia, where it was domesticated, and then landed, through Arab merchants, in Spain and North Africa in the Middle Ages. In Italy it was already eaten in the sixteenth century and in France in the eighteenth. Because of its indigestible taste, if eaten raw, Europeans thought that the Arabs had spread it to poison Christians. Until the 18th century, many doctors were convinced that eating this fruit made people crazy. Castore Durante, in his Herbario Nuovo (Rome 1585) writes: “Usansi in Italia di mangiare questi frutti, ma sono ventosi et duri da digerire: et imperò usandosi troppo ne i cibi, generano humori malinconici, opilationi, cancari, lepra, dolor di testa, tristezze, durezze di fegato et di milza et fanno cattivo colore in tutta la persona, et febri lunghe” (They use in Italy to eat these fruits, but they are hard to digest. They generate melancholy humors, cancer, headaches, sadness, hardness of the liver and spleen and cause bad color, and fevers).
Preparation
Come dicevamo, la preparazione della pasta alla norma è semplice, tuttavia richiede un po’ di tempo (fra un’ora e mezza e 2 ore).
Leggi anche: Ricetta originale Spaghetti alla Norma
- When we use eggplants/aubergine we cut them in slices or dices, depending on the dish we are gonna make and then we place them on a colander with abundant salt and leave it aside for about 15 minutes. My mother taught me since I was a kid that this is good for giving eggplants/aubergines a sweeter taste and letting release the bitter they contain.
- Second step is frying. In a pan put some olive oil and start frying your eggplants until they become slightly brown on both sides (not black!).
Taglia le melanzane, e cospargi di sale grosso le fette. Metti le fette una sopra l’altra su un ripiano leggermente inclinato (ad esempio un tagliere) o in uno scolapasta. Prendi una padella, e fai scaldare un po’ di olio extravergine di oliva. Prendi una padella, e fai scaldare un po’ di olio extravergine di oliva. Quando le melanzane sono dorate, toglile dalla padella e mettile su carta assorbente da cucina. Taglia la maggior parte delle fette di melanzane a listarelle, e lascia qualche fetta intera.
After the resting time has elapsed, dab the aubergines well, pour the oil into the pan and fry.
Peel the tomatoes, cut into pieces, remove the seeds and keep the vegetable liquid. Brown the red garlic in a large pan over low heat with the extra virgin olive oil, add the tomatoes and the vegetable liquid, add the salt and sugar. Cook until the tomato sauce is well reduced.
Now it's time to prepare the pasta! Then cook on the stove with plenty of salted water and when it boils, pour the pasta.
Serving
Now you just have to drain the pasta on a serving dish adding the sauce, aubergines and ricotta salata.
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Drain the pasta, put it in the tureen, sprinkle it with the ricotta from the largest pile, then with the tomato sauce; place the freshly fried aubergines on top with a little of their oil, garnish with 4 beautiful basil leaves, sprinkle with the rest of the ricotta.
As soon as pasta is drained cover it with the tomato sauce and the eggplants/aubergines and grate on top the salted ricotta or instead, if you don’t have it, some parmisan cheese. *In some families they also like to add some mozzarella cheese in cubes before serving the pasta. They mix all the ingredients together in the pan and then serve with the mozzarella still thready.
Variations
Esistono diverse versioni della ricetta. Nella zona di Messina, le melanzane sono tagliate a dadini anziché a fette. Inoltre, esistono alcune ricette che, partendo da quella originale, se ne discostano con risultati interessanti. La versione con melanzane grigliate anziché fritte è un piatto più leggero e meno calorico.
But there is also a Messina version. In Messina Pasta alla Norma is made with a typical cheese of the area, the baked ricotta (ricotta infornata). Compared to salted ricotta, the baked one has a sweeter and more delicate flavor, but a decidedly toasted scent. Seeing is believing…
Pasta selection
Per preparare la ricetta della pasta alla norma utilizza formati di pasta corta, possibilmente con un diametro piuttosto ampio, come tortiglioni o rigatoni. Nel trapanese si utilizza un formato chiamato busiata, che è una pasta lunga.
Despite its simplicity, there are disagreements over the type of pasta to use: mostly maccheroni, but also penne, penne rigate or spaghetti. However, some cookbooks settle matters firmly by recommending you use any type of pasta you like.
ORIGINAL, TYPICAL, TRADITIONAL?At the beginning there are the products: cereals, fruit, meat, fish… Then maybe you can understand how difficult and also fascinating it is to reconstruct its history avoiding, if possible, to claim primogeniture, originality: we leave these matters to the “gastro-Nazis” as some call them, to the fans of tradition, the true one, which is lost in the “Night of time” and which has always been “typical” of that territory.
Tips for Success
Beyond the disputes, there are some tips universally recognized for making a proper pasta alla Norma.
The first involves the eggplant: before frying it, it must be cut into slices or strips, then set in a colander, sprinkled with coarse salt and pressed under a weight for 30 minutes. This allows the salt to draw water from the eggplant and with it the bitter taste sometimes found in eggplants. After draining, the eggplant slices are rinsed and dried, one by one, with paper towels.
The second procedure to follow is the frying method, which should only be done with extra-virgin olive oil. No other kinds of oil are permitted. After frying, do not wash the pot, but just pour out the oil and set the tomatoes in it.
This brings us to the third tip for a perfect Pasta alla Norma: the tomatoes. This essential ingredient in the Mediterranean diet must be very fresh and prepared beforehand by cooking them in a little water and then running them through a food mill.
And finally, the cheese. As mentioned, tradition permits nothing but well-aged salted ricotta made from sheep’s milk.
Trivia
Are you curious about Pasta alla Norma? Here are some trivia and tips for you.
TIPS 1 What to pair with Pasta alla Norma? A good glass of Sicilian red wine, such as a Nero d’Avola, will enhance the rich flavours of the dish. For a side dish, a fresh salad is ideal.
TIPS 2 Why is it called norma? The name celebrates the opera “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini, considered as much a masterpiece as this recipe.
TIPS 3 Which aubergine for Pasta alla Norma? Round black aubergines are perfect for their sweet and meaty flesh, but violets are also great.
TIPS 4 How many calories does a plate of Pasta alla Norma have? One dish contains about 450-500 calories, depending on the method of cooking the aubergines.