“Pasta alla Norma” is one of the most popular Italian first courses. The history of his creation takes us back to Catania in 1831 in the year of the composition of the famous opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It is precisely to him that two of the various traditions on the birth of this recipe are connected.

The first legend has it that in 1920, during a lunch, the playwright Nino Martoglio congratulated the landlady for his pasta, exclaiming: "Signora Saridda, chista is' na vera Norma", making a comparison with the opera . This line quickly spread throughout the city of Catania, giving its name to the famous dish.

A second version wants this to be Bellini's favorite pasta during the writing of his Norma, always ordered in the same restaurant. The landlord would later give the dish the name of the opera that has become famous.

The third version, on the other hand, wants the name to derive from that of a young and attractive catanese professor who, due to her beauty, recalled the excellent quality of this dish.

The Catania masterpiece and its variants

Pasta alla Norma is the subject of great discussions on traditional preparation methods and as many variants on the classic recipe.

For a original dish it is necessary to exalt the raw material as much as possible, which should be of strictly local origin. To remain faithful to the recipe praised by Martoglio, the ingredients must be: Italian durum wheat semolina pasta, Nubia’s red garlic, fresh Valverde’s basil, Belpasso’s extra virgin olive oil, Vizzini’s salted ricotta, aubergines of the Turkish Acireale variety or Sita, “rizzo catanese” tomatoes by Adrano.

The variants of the Norma are concentrated above all on the type of cheese to be used.

There are those who prefer it with Parmesan cheese, some with caciocavallo cheese, some with Ragusa cheese. Sometimes we can find it with pieces of stringy mozzarella cheese or with anchovies and capers.

The major dispute is between the cities of Catania and Messina on the type of ricotta cheese to be used and is linked to their different dairy traditions. The first wants salted ricotta cheese and the second baked one.

The only meeting point of all these variations is the quality of pasta, always and only short.

Why try it with whole wheat pasta?

We at Pasta Antonio Amato are very close to traditions and we always think of recipes while respecting the original preparations, but this time we made an exception.

Proposing a Norma with Whole Wheat Fusilli can be a risky choice but we are sure that the result obtained will be a summer dish, tasty and with some more benefits!

With the full wording we refer to a pasta made with a cereal worked without using the classic refining process. The grain of wheat thus retains all its parts, qualities and nutrients.

A good supply of fiber is very useful for our body and contributes both to gastrointestinal wellbeing, to the reduction of the glycemic index of food, and to its caloric intake.

Also the presence of proteins is clearly superior to the normal white pasta, in addition the whole wheat grain is rich in B vitamins, minerals and polyphenols with strong antioxidant power.

All these positive characteristics make whole wheat pasta a recommended food for those who follow a controlled diet. It is precisely the high presence of fibers that gives a greater sense of satiety by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates.

Here is the recipe of our Norma with Whole Wheat Fusilli. We invite you to suggest many other classics to revisit, enjoy your meal!

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 SERVINGS

350 g Antonio Amato Whole Wheat Fusilli

500 g Antonio Amato chopped tomatoes

400 g aubergines

2 cloves garlic

100 g salted ricotta cheese

Antonio Amato extra virgin olive oil to taste

salt to taste

1 basil bouquet to taste

DIRECTIONS

Let's start with the tomato sauce, pour the chopped tomatoes in a pan and cook it in a pan with oil and garlic for about 20 minutes. When cooking is complete, add salt and basil.

Aubergines must be cut into thick slices and left to rest for an hour in a colander covered with coarse salt. In this way the liquids will be eliminated together with their bitter taste.

Afterwards rinse and dry the aubergines and then fry them in oil that is strictly extra virgin olive oil. Drain on absorbent paper and then cut into cubes.

Cook the Antonio Amato Whole Wheat Fusilli for 7 minutes and once drained pour them into the sauce, combining them with fried aubergines.

Do not forget to add a nice sprinkling of salted ricotta cheese and a few leaves of basil. Serve the Fusilli very hot so as to mix the ricotta well and enjoy this Sicilian jewel.