Pasta alla Norma Day

The story

Pasta alla Norma is Catania's summer masterpiece: pasta with tomato sauce, fried eggplant, basil, and a shower of salted ricotta. Named in homage to Bellini's opera Norma—so the story goes—the dish gathers Sicily's sunniest flavors on one plate. Eggplant is fried or roasted until silky, tomato sauce stays bright, and ricotta salata adds a salty, crumbly finish that pecorino cannot quite replace. The colors alone—gold, red, green, white—look like a flag of the table, and the aroma of basil rising from the hot pasta is pure midsummer.

The recipe is modest in technique and generous in reward. Good eggplant, ripe tomatoes, and restraint with oil make the difference between a greasy plate and a luminous one. On Pasta alla Norma Day, salt and fry eggplant slices, simmer a simple tomato sauce with garlic and basil, and toss with short pasta or spaghetti. Finish with grated ricotta salata and more fresh basil. Serve with a glass of something cold and celebrate Catania's gift: a vegetarian classic that tastes like Sicily at its brightest.