PASTA ALLA NORMA

This divine pasta alla Norma is a vegetarian dish which celebrates simple flavours of Italy. Featuring aubergines, rich San Marzano tomatoes and ricotta salata.

Best pasta match: pennette o rigatone

Wine pairing: Cerasuolo di Vittoria


Ingredients for 4 people:

  • Peeled Tomatoes 500gr
  • Pasta: rigatone or pennette 400 gr
  • ricotta salata 200 gr
  • 2 aubergines of medium size
  • 2 spicchi d’aglio, basilico (10-12 foglie)
  • Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash and trim the aubergines. Slice them vertically, every slice must be more or less  4 mm thick. Leave some rounded slices on the side to decorate the plate at the end.

Put them in a colander and scatter them, layer after layer, with rock salt. Cover them with a plate and apply a bowl full of water. This will work as a pressure on the aubergines, who will clean out in the meantime. Let them clean out for at least one hour.


For the sauce:

Brown off the garlic in the olive oil. Add peeled tomatoes and cook over low heat for at least 20 minutes.  

Sift them and put again over heat in order to thicken the sauce more. Once the fire is off, add half of the fresh basil.

Water the aubergines, dry them very carefully with a rag and fry them in hot (not very very hot) olive oil, and brown them off.

Move the aubergines to absorbent paper and eliminate part of the oil.

Cook the pasta in the meantime.

You can also grate the ricotta salata and keep it aside for later.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the aubergines into strips and put them in a pan together with part of the tomato sauce.

When pasta is al dente, drain it and put it in the pan together with the aubergines and the tomato sauce. Let cook for few minutes and then serve the pasta adding the leftover of the tomato sauce, some intact aubergines slices, the grated ricotta salata and the other basil leaves.


Buon appetito!


Pasta alla Norma