Cooking 4 2: Pasta "Norma"

Why should I begin my blog with the posting of a famous Sicilian Recipe? After all, one easily can find this in any number of cookbooks or in a Google search. Maybe it's because I prepared it last night. That's good enough for me. Also, I have a few twists you might not have seen before. It improves the recipe. I don't eat lousy food.

This is the season for fresh basil, eggplant and tomatoes. PASTA CON LA NORMA! Oh, you don't like eggplant?? You will the way it's prepared here. Guaranteed.

First the Ingredients:

One Half pound Penne pasta
One or Two pounds of fresh, ripe Tomatoes.

Plum tomatoes are best but not necessary.

One Half or One Quarter Onion (depends on how large it is)

Two cloves of Garlic

about Two ounces of Pancetta

One Medium or Two small fresh Eggplants (firm and shiny)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (see method)

Large bunch of fresh Basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground Pepper

Cinnamon Sugar (mix equal quantities of Cinnamon and Sugar)

Firm Cheese (I use Reggiano Parmigiano. Traditional is Ricotta Salata)

Next, the Utensils:

You will need a 4 quart pot for cooking the Penne, a large fry pan (with a cover) for the sauce, a large deep-sided pan for frying the eggplant, a colander and a bowl that will fit under it.

Next, the Method:

Step 1: Peel the eggplant and slice on the bias to produce oval slices about 1/4 inch thick. Place these in a colander and cover each layer with a liberal amount of salt (I use course sea-salt). Set the colander in a bowl. Put a small plate on the eggplant and a weight on the plate. Leave this at room temperature for at least an hour.

Step 2: Remove the tomatoes' peels by lowering them into boiling water for a minute, carefully lifting them out and peeling them under cold running water. The peels will easily slide off.

handy wok strainer

Step 3: Prepare Onion, garlic and pancetta

Step 4: Chop these ingredients into small dice.

Step 5: Prepare the eggplant. After at least an hour you will see dark and bitter juices in the bowl under the eggplant. Discard this juice and wash off the eggplant, squeezing them dry in batches of 4 slices, between paper towels. After all the eggplant is de-salted and dried, heat enough oil in a deep-sided pan to allow the eggplant slices to "float." Make oil HOT. Add eggplant slices, do not crowd, (two or three batches will be necessary). If it splatters, you didn't get slices dry enough. (Remember the saying about water and oil!) Fry until colored, turning once. Drain eggplant on paper towels. Sprinkle slices with Cinnamon-Sugar while they are still very hot.

notice cinnamon-sugar

Step 6: Now in another pan, saute onion, pancetta and garlic in a little olive oil until transparent.

While this is happening, chop the tomatoes.

Then add tomatoes and a couple teaspoons of salt sprinkled over the tomatoes. This will help break them down.

tomatoes added

After sauce is boiling nicely, add some freshly ground pepper (to taste), lower the heat and cover the pan until the tomatoes completely collapse. This will take less time the riper the tomatoes are. Meanwhile have the pasta water coming to a boil.

"wet" sauce

Step7: After tomatoes are broken down, remove lid and raise the heat a little. Correct seasonings. You want to evaporate almost all the liquid. Add the Penne to the boiling pasta water and cook according to package instructions. If the sauce finishes before the Penne, just lower the heat to simmer, or turn it off.

finished sauce

Step 8: While the pasta cooks, cut up the basil with kitchen scissors. (My grandmother would have torn small pieces off with her fingers!) Also create thin pieces of cheese. There's a tool for this, but I use a potato peeler. I already have too many tools.

Final Step: Drape eggplant slices around edges of two bowls. Reserve a few of the smallest pieces. Drain pasta and place in the bowls. Add reserved eggplant slices. Add sauce. Sprinkle basil over everything. Top with cheese slices. Pour a glass of good Sicilian wine and enjoy!