How to make the Pasta alla Norma

Ingredients

• Spaghetti 320 g
• Ricotta cheese salt 200 g
• Eggplant 500 g
• Garlic 5 g
• Fresh basil 10 g
• Rock Salt 50 g
• Peeled tomatoes 800 g
• Extra virgin olive oil 30 g

Preparation

To prepare the pasta alla Norma begin the seasoning. Take the eggplant, wash, check them and cut into slices 0.5 cm thick with a knife or a mandolin, which are going to put in layers in a colander resting on a bowl; sprinkle with salt each layer of eggplant you put into colander. Cover with a plate or with a weight placed on top to eliminate excess water and to remove the bitter aftertaste: let them aside for at least 1-2 hours.

Take a pan with high sides, add the oil and fry two cloves of garlic until they brown. Add the peeled tomatoes (if you prefer you can also crush them with a fork before) and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until it reaches a boil.

Pass the tomatoes through a sieve to remove all the seeds and let cook again for another 10 minutes. When cooked, remove from the heat and add a few leaves of basil to flavor. Keep the sauce aside.

At this point, resume the eggplant, rinse in plenty of water to remove the salt and then dab with a dry clean cloth. Take a pan with high sides, filled with the oil of seeds and brought to 170 ° temperature (can be measured with a cooking thermometer): Pour a few slices of eggplant at a time so that the oil temperature remains between 170 -180°.

When they are golden, drain with a skimmer and let dry the excess oil lying them on a tray covered with paper towels. Then cut into strips, keeping aside some whole slices for the final decoration.

United eggplant with tomato sauce prepared earlier (conservatene a portion that will serve to Serve). Then take a pan with high sides, fill it with water and bring to a boil. Add salt and cook the spaghetti. Once cooked, drain and transfer them directly into the pan with the tomato sauce and eggplant.

Saute a few minutes to mix them to spaghetti sauce to flavor. Grate the ricotta into thin slices; Serve the pasta alla Norma, adding a few spoon of sauce that you put aside, and finish with a sprinkling of cheese, with a few slices of eggplant and a few leaves of basil.