Pasta alla Norma

To make pasta alla Norma, first wash and dry the eggplant well, and trim it 1. Cut it into slices around .30 inch (8 mm) 2 and transfer to a colander 3.

Sprinkle with salt 4 and leave to drain for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, turn to the tomatoes: Wash them and remove the stems 5. Cut in half 6.

Place in a pot with a pinch of salt 7, 3 cloves of garlic (you can use fewer if you prefer, but the garlic characterizes pasta alla Norma) 8, and a handful of basil 9.

Let this cook over low heat for 30 minutes without adding anything else; the tomatoes will release their liquid 10. After 30 minutes, remove the garlic and basil 11. Transfer the tomatoes to a food mill fitted with the finest disc and grind them 12.

Once you’ve got your purée 13, transfer it to a pot, add another clove of garlic 14 and a sprig of basil 15. Let it cook for another 40 minutes, stirring every once in a while. 

At this point, you can rinse the eggplant well, drying it with paper towel. Next, pour the extra virgin olive oil in a deep pot and bring it to a temperature of around 340-350°F (170-180°C). Immerse a few slices of eggplant at a time in the oil 16 and turn them every now and then. It will take a few minutes for them to turn nicely golden 17. At this point, remove the eggplant from the pot with kitchen tweezers and transfer to a tray lined with paper towel 18. Continue frying the eggplant, and in the meantime, put a pot full of water on the stove, which you’ll use to cook the pasta. 

Once the sauce is fairly thick, remove the basil 19, add a spoonful of the oil the eggplant was cooked 20 in and a drizzle of fresh olive oil 21.

Cook the pasta until it’s al dente 22, drain, and pour into the sauce 23. Flip the pan quickly to cover the pasta with the sauce 24.

Transfer the pasta to the plates, add the fried eggplant 25, plenty of grated ricotta salata 26, a basil leaf, and then your pasta alla Norma is ready to be served 27!