Name: Maccheroncini: Aubergine and Tomato (Pasta alla Norma)
Yield: Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 80 g ricotta salata (grated), or 120 g smoked ricotta (crumbled); oil for deep-frying (corn, sunflower or rapeseed); 1 medium aubergine (around 300 g); ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 8—10 basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped; 90 ml medium tomato sauce; 200 g maccheroncini; a small pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes; 2 cloves garlic; ½ medium onion, finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a starter

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Geometry of Pasta

By Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy

Published 2010

About

One of Sicily’s most famous dishes, this is named after Bellini’s Norma. There is a (likely apocryphal) story that a chef, enraptured after hearing a rousing performance of the opera, rushed back to his kitchen and immediately concocted this dish in its honour. The recipe pre-dates the work, however, and it is likely that the name of the dish was changed after some of Bellini’s compatriots started using the term una vera Norma to extol the merits of a remarkable product or dee