Course | Primo (Italian pasta course) |
---|---|
Place of origin | Italy |
Region or state | Sicily |
Main ingredients | Pasta, tomato, eggplant, ricotta salata |
Pasta alla Norma (Italian: [ˈpasta alla ˈnɔrma]), earlier called pasta con le melanzane ( lit. 'pasta with eggplant'), [1] [2] is an Italian dish of pasta and eggplant. It is typical of Sicilian cuisine, [3] from Catania in particular. [4]
It is made of spaghetti or other pasta with tomato sauce, covered with slices of fried eggplant and served with grated ricotta salata cheese [4] and often basil. [5]
It was named in honor of the native of Catania Vincenzo Bellini, the composer of the opera Norma. [4] [2] It is said that the Italian writer Nino Martoglio exclaimed "This is a real 'Norma'!", meaning a masterpiece, when he tasted the dish, [5] [6] though the name is not attested until decades after his death. [7]
Pasta alla Norma was named "dish of the year" by the BIT Tourism Award in 2018. [5]