Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma (including Spaghetti alla Norma) is a pasta dish of Sicilian cuisine. Basis are usually spaghetti, penne or penne rigate occasionally. Other ingredients include eggplant, tomatoes, fresh basil and ricotta salata, a typical Sicilian pecorino cheese.

History

The court has been known since the 19th century and was named after the opera Norma -born composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania.

On the origin of the name, there are two legends. Firstly, it is assumed that a Sicilian chef was so excited about Bellini's opera that he named one of his dishes afterwards. The second, more likely explanation is that Bellini's countrymen were so impressed by the beauty of his opera, that they began to use the term una vera Norma, Norma as a true superlative. Over the years, the delicious and typical for the region court was called Pasta alla Norma.

Symbolism

The colors of the five ingredients are often interpreted as a symbol of the Italian tricolor in conjunction with the colors of the city of Catania. The fresh basil is the green of the country, the pasta for the white of equality and the tomatoes for the red of the fraternity. The black of the eggplant and the white of the ricotta salata symbolize the area covered by lava or of snow slopes of Etna near the city.