Eggplant alla Norma

It is said that the dish is named after Bellinis opera Norma. It is a simple Sicilian dish made with eggplant, ricotta, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 70 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 20 minutes
  • Difficulty: 2
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 piece Eggplant, raw

  • 2 spoons Oil, olive

  • 4 pods Garlic, fresh

  • 1 handful Basil, fresh

  • 500 g Tomato sauce, without salt

  • 400 g Pasta, Macaroni

  • 200 g Cheese, ricotta

  • 0.5 teaspoons Salt, table

  • pieces Oil, vegetable oil, canola

Steps

  1. Clean and wash the eggplant. Cut it into 1 cm thick slices and layer them in a colander. Lightly salt the eggplant slices and weigh them down. Let them sit for 1 hour to allow the water to drain. Peel the garlic cloves. Wash the basil leaves under running water and dry them.

  2. Place a pan on the stove and heat olive oil. Add the garlic cloves and sauté them over low heat until they turn slightly brown. Remove the garlic cloves and add the tomato puree, a few basil leaves, and salt to the pan. Cook over moderate heat for about 15 minutes.

  3. Lightly squeeze the eggplant slices to remove as much water as possible. Dry them with paper towels. Place a deep pan on the stove and heat the oil in which you will fry the eggplant slices. Once the oil is hot enough, fry the eggplant slices in batches. Place the fried slices on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

  4. Place a large pot with a generous amount of water on the stove. Just before the water boils, salt it. Add the pasta and cook for the time indicated on the package.

  5. Cut the fried eggplant slices into pieces and mix them into the tomato sauce. Drain the cooked pasta well and add it to the pan with the sauce. Mix well. Crumble ricotta over the pasta and mix everything together once more.

  6. Serve the pasta on plates, garnish with basil leaves, and serve.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 169.84 kcal
  • Fat: 3.51 g
    • Saturated Fat: 1.32 g
  • Carbohydrates: 26.57 g
    • Sugars: 2.71 g
  • Protein: 6.08 g
  • Fiber: 1.68 g

Advice

You can also make your own tomato puree. You will need ripe tomatoes, which you peel, deseed, and puree. When cooking pasta, follow the rule of using 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of pasta. For every liter of water, use 10 to 12 grams of salt. Fry in a large amount of fat. The food should float in it. For frying, use fats that do not contain water, such as coconut oil or good quality oil. The frying fat is hot enough when small bubbles form around a wooden spoon.