First courses
Pasta alla norma with Minnelea basil Sugo
Pasta alla norma is the Catania classic of fried eggplant, tomato, basil and ricotta salata. In this version the tomato is Minnelea Sugo al Basilico, already cooked with passata, extra virgin olive oil and basil: all that is left is to fry the eggplant and grate the ricotta salata, and the dish is on the table in half an hour.
Method
- Cut the eggplants into rounds about half a centimetre thick or into cubes of a couple of centimetres, leaving the skin on. There is no need to salt them: today's varieties are hardly bitter. If you want them drier, leave them under salt for 30 minutes and then pat them dry.
- Fry the eggplant a little at a time in hot peanut oil until golden on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and salt lightly.
- Bring the pasta water to the boil and salt it. In a wide pan, warm the Sugo al Basilico over a low heat for 5–6 minutes: it is already cooked and only needs to take on flavour and reduce a little.
- Cook the pasta and drain it al dente, keeping a ladle of cooking water aside. Toss it in the sauce for a minute with a few basil leaves torn by hand and, if needed, a splash of cooking water.
- Gently stir in half of the eggplant. Plate, then finish with the remaining eggplant, plenty of coarsely grated ricotta salata and a basil leaf.
Minnelea products for this recipe
The preserves used in this recipe.
In the Catania version the eggplant is not mixed into the pasta but served on top: both are correct. If you don't want to fry, bake the eggplant at 200 °C with a drizzle of oil for 20–25 minutes: the result is drier. The recipe contains wheat and milk.