Pasta alla Norma original recipe from Catania. How is pasta alla Norma made? Pasta alla Norma is a recipe that originated in the city of Catania, characterized by the typical flavors of the summer season, red and ripe tomatoes, fresh fried and golden eggplant, garlic and salted ricotta cheese. It would seem that the Sicilian playwright Nino Martoglio, who compared the goodness of pasta alla Norma to the beauty of Bellini's opera of the same name, gave the recipe its name. Rich in scents, colors, and genuine flavors, pasta alla Norma is perhaps the most famous dish in the city of Catania and despite its extreme simplicity, it has a unique and special taste. The tomato sauce for making pasta alla Norma should be made strictly from fresh tomatoes, at least in summer. It does not involve sautéing and various gravies, it does not involve onion but only flavorings such as garlic to be added to the cooking of the sauce and fresh basil to be added at the end of the cooking of the sauce and in the end a good round of extra virgin olive oil.
What makes pasta alla Norma a true pasta alla Norma is the fried eggplant, strictly sliced and not diced, to be spread on the plate filled with pasta. Finally, the signature brushstroke is given by the ricotta salata, which in an original pasta alla Norma, can never be missing.
