Pasta Alla Norma

Pasta "Alla Norma” is a humble, traditional and justly famous dish. The 19th-century composer Vincenzo Bellini is said to have adored it with such a passion (he ate it for lunch daily in his hometown, Catania) that the dish was eventually named after his opera “Norma.” You make a simple basil-infused tomato sauce, fry eggplant cubes in olive oil, toss both with pasta and shower with grated ricotta salata and toasted bread crumbs. Or do you? Some cooks forgo the crumbs. Some fry large slices of eggplant and lay them over the pasta, or ring the platter with them instead. Either way you slice it, it’s delicious and enjoy this dish with a beautiful armparty to match! Inspired by my favorite pasta dish, shop the "Alla Norma" armparty here!

Enjoy my dads version of "Pasta Alla Norma" below!

Serving Size: 4 people

Ingredients

• 8 Plum tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt

• 3 cloves of fresh garlic

• 1 onion

• 1/2 cup basil leaves

• 2 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

• 2 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1 pound uncooked penne rigate

• 1 1/2 ounces ricotta salata cheese, grated with a Microplane grater (about 1 cup)

How to Make Sauce:

Step 1

-Boil water and blanche tomatoes for about 3 minutes

-Remove tomatoes, peel and remove pulp and seeds and then blend until smooth

-finely chop garlic and onion and sautée until golden brown, then add tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

How to make Eggplants:

Step 2

- peel eggplants and cube into 1/2” pieces

- sprinkle with salt and place in strainer covering with a weighted object for about 15 minutes so the dark liquid drains and removes the acidity

-rinse the cubes and pat dry

-in a frying pan bring a light vegetable oil to a boil. Place cubes in pan and fry u til dark golden brown

-when you remove them from

the pan, place them in a plate with a paper towel under to absorb the extra oil

Step 3

-Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions for al dente. -add pasta to boiling water and cook for approx 10 min

-add eggplants and 1/2 cup of grated ricotta salata to the simmering sauce and fold in

Step 4

- when pasta is ready, use a slotted spoon to remove pasta and add to large mixing bowl without completely draining the water

-add in the sauce leaving some aside to top off the plates

-plate the pasta and garnish with sauce, shaved ricotta salata and basil

ENJOY!

Festa Di San Giuseppe/St Joseph's Day

Auguri to all the Giuseppe's, in particular my dad, Giuseppina's Joseph's and Josephina's!

Most people think of St Patrick's day for its beer drinking binges and parade but I like to think of it as being 2 days closer to St Joseph's Day! St. Joseph’s Day, also known as the Fest Di San Giuseppe, is the feast day for Saint Joseph – which falls on March 19th each year. Since my dad's name is Giuseppe, we would celebrate with a traditional dinner consisting of "Pasta Con le Sarde" , grilled fish for main course (since it falls during lent, there is no meat on the menu) Fava beans, artichokes and the traditional "Sfinci for dessert.

But did you know...

St. Joseph is the Patron Saint of Workers. His reverence in Sicily comes from a time of drought on the Island back in the Middle Ages. The peasants prayed to God through St. Joseph, asking for rain. They promised that if the drought ended, they would fete both the Almighty Father and St. Joseph in an annual feast.

The traditional foods served during St. Joseph’s Day are symbolic of both the legends associated with the saint and the very real struggles of the Sicilian peasantry. The fava bean plays a prominent role in the feast. Fava beans are said to be good luck because they were the only things that survived a drought during the Middle Ages in Italy.Once considered food for animals, the hardy bean was not affected by the droughts and famines of Sicily, making it an invaluable food source to the peasants.

Although I don't enjoy "Pasta Con Sarde", I can confidently say that my dad's "Pasta Con Sarde" is on point. He uses fresh sardines - never from a can - (which take him forever to clean and usually involves my mom yelling at him for stinking up the kitchen) and then finishes off the plate with toasted breadcrumbs. Wild fennel and chickpeas were also some of the few plants available to these poor people and thus became important parts of the Sicilian diet. These are just some of the simple and rustic ingredients that go into the unique Pasta di San Giuseppe.Breadcrumbs are worked into the recipes of the dishes because St. Joseph was a carpenter and the breadcrumbs represent sawdust

And last but not least, to finish off a delicious meal is the traditional St Joseph's Pastry or "Sfinci" which is essentially a fried zeppole piped with rich custard or cannoli cream sprinkled generously with powdered sugar.

Baci,

Oriana

Pasta Con Tenerumi

Pasta con Tenerumi is one of the simplest, inexpensive and most delicious pasta dishes. Tenerumi are the leaves from the "cucuzza" squash. Similar to a zucchini, the cucuzza has large flat green leaves however these leaves are very "tender" and tasty. Since each region in Sicily has their own twist on how to prepare certain meals, this version my dad prepared is a "Palermitano" style Pasta con Tenerumi. We started by going to the local market and my mom hand picked the "best looking" cucuzza and tenerumi. After he cleaned the leaves, he chopped them up. Then he sautéed a few tomatoes in a lot of garlic and oil which he boil the leaves and cut up squash for about 10 minutes. Nonna was assigned "pasta prep" as she broke up regular DECecco spaghetti into short 1.5 inch pieces. The pasta in then thrown into the pot with the tenerumi and cucuzza to cook for about another 10 minutes. Once the pasta is ready, you add in the garlic, oil and tomatoes and its ready to serve!