Pasta alla Norma

La storia di questo piatto

Pasta alla Norma is Sicily on a plate: golden aubergine, generous tomato, and a snowfall of salted ricotta over a bowl of rigatoni. It speaks of sun-soaked southern kitchens, where a few humble ingredients are made to taste like abundance.

Ingredienti

• 600 g Aubergine
• 500 g San Marzano peeled tomatoes (canned, with their juice)
• 400 g Pasta (rigatoni or penne)
• 150 g Salted ricotta
• 20 g Fresh basil
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 250 ml Extra virgin olive oil (for frying, sauce and finishing)
• 45 g Salt (coarse for the aubergine, for the cooking water and fine for the sauce)

Preparazione

1. Cut the aubergine into cubes of about 1.5 cm. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with about 15 g of coarse salt (slightly less than a generous tablespoon), tossing so it spreads evenly. Let them rest for 30 minutes over a bowl: the salt draws out a dark, bitter liquid, which removes the bitterness and helps the aubergine brown better when fried. Afterwards, rinse them quickly under running water and gently squeeze them between your hands to remove excess salt and liquid.
2. Dry the aubergine carefully, pressing them with kitchen paper or a clean cloth until they are almost completely dry: if they remain wet, the oil will splatter and the aubergine will not brown.
3. Pour about 150 ml of oil into a high-sided pan, to a depth of about 1 cm, and heat it over medium-high heat. The oil is ready when it no longer smokes and, when a cube of aubergine is dipped in, it sizzles immediately with bubbles around it. Fry the aubergine in several batches, in a single layer so they do not stew, turning them often for 4-5 minutes, until they are soft inside and golden outside. Top up the oil if needed between batches, allowing it to return to temperature. Drain each batch with a slotted spoon and place it on kitchen paper.
4. Once the frying is finished, prepare the sauce, so you can follow it carefully. In a pot, heat 50 ml of oil over medium-low heat with the whole garlic cloves, crushed with the palm of your hand and not chopped. Let them flavour the oil for 1-2 minutes, until they smell fragrant and are just golden, then remove them to avoid any bitter note. Add the peeled tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you pour them in, together with their juice.
5. Let the sauce cook over medium-low heat, partly covered, stirring often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. After 12-15 minutes it will be thicker and more concentrated: when you drag a spoon along the bottom, the trail should remain visible for a moment. Adjust the salt cautiously (the rinsed aubergine has little, but taste before adding more). In the last 3 minutes, add the fried aubergine and stir gently, also adding 3/4 of the basil torn by hand.
6. Bring 4 litres of water to the boil in a large pot and salt it with about 30 g of coarse salt. When it is boiling vigorously, add the pasta and stir immediately for the first 30 seconds so it does not stick. Cook it for 2 minutes less than the time indicated on the packet: it will finish cooking in the sauce. Before draining, set aside about 200 ml of cooking water, then drain the pasta in a colander.
7. Transfer the drained pasta into the pot with the sauce and aubergine and stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, so that each piece is coated with sauce. If the dish is too thick or dry, add the cooking water a spoonful at a time, stirring, until you reach a creamy, fluid consistency. Turn off the heat and stir once more briefly.
8. Divide the pasta among the plates. Grate the salted ricotta generously over each portion using a coarse grater. Finish with the remaining basil torn by hand (about 1/4) and a thin drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil, poured in a spiral.