Breaded eggplants or as we call them: "cotolette di melanzane!"

Cotolette di melanzane

Do you know how to prepare some amazing breaded aubergines or eggplants?
This is a Sicilian recipe that we called "melanzane a cotoletta". Melanzane means aubergine/eggplant, while the expression a cotoletta explains the way we cook it, as I wrote in my previous article. My friend Lucia and I prepared them last week.

Ingredients & preparation for 4 people: 

- 1 rounded aubergine/eggplant (the ones we call tunisine)

- 2 beaten eggs

- breadcrumb

- olive oil

In Sicily we mostly use these kind of eggplants because they are sweeter and absorb less oil during the frying process.
1. As the pictures explain first let's cut the eggplant in slices not too thin. Place them in a colander with salt on for about 15 minutes than wash them under running water and dry them with a clean cloth;

 2. Prepare the "eggplants cotolette" just like in the video shown here (beaten eggs and breadcrumb);

3. Put on a high heat a large pan and fill half of it with olive oil and fry them on both sides until golden brown (pic below). 

4. Prepare a plate with kitchen paper to help absorb the exceeding oil, then serve them warm with a refreshing salads like tomatoes or rockets. 

When we were kids and my mum was preparing any kind of cotoletta, there was usually some beaten egg left, so she used to add some more breadcrumb and fry it at the end like a thick omelette. We loved it and we always fought to get the biggest piece of it!!!

Try them at least once, they are delicious and you will have a scrumptious lunch that is definetely worth the time spent frying!

"Pasta alla Norma", what's the story of this incredible dish?

Do you know how to make pasta alla Norma? And what is the story of this Sicilian dish? The pasta alla Norma is originally from Catania, the second bigger city in Sicily and is dedicated, just as the name suggests, at the famous opera lirica LA NORMA composed in 1831 by Vincenzo Bellini, a musician from Catania.

I have actually heard two different stories about this dish: the first one says that the name of the dish was given by a playwright Nino Martoglio, also from Catania. He was comparing the goodness of the pasta with the opera lirica and exclaimed: This is a Norma! (meaning as goos as the Norma...)

Second story is that while writing this masterpiece Vincenzo Bellini used to go to a restaurant and ordered always this dish of pasta, so the owner finally name it after his opera to homage Bellini. Besides, it is said that at those times the dish had a very special presentation: it was like a mountain-shaped plate of pasta with eggplants/aubergine at the bottom, all cut in pieces or slices and then on top the tomato sauce with grated salted ricotta covering everything. It was a very creative representation of the Mount Etna with its land, lava and snow.

Making the Norma is very easy if you have the right ingredients. For 6 people you will need:

600 gr maccheroni or spaghetti

500 ml tomato sauce

olive oil

grated salted ricotta

basil

salt
aromas (cinnamon, nutmeg)

2 eggplants or aubergines

Preparation:

In Sicily we have two varieties of eggplants or aubergines: the oval ones and the rounded ones. These last ones (the pic on the right) are the best and the most used in the kitchen because of their sweeter delicate taste. We call them "tunisine" which means Tunisian, allegedly because they used to come from there.
1. When we use eggplants/aubergine we cut them in slices or dices, depending on the dish we are gonna make and then we place them on a colander with abundant salt and leave it aside for about 15 minutes. My mother taught me since I was a kid that this is good for giving eggplants/aubergines a sweeter taste and letting release the bitter they contain. After that you just have to wash them under running water and they are ready to be cooked.

2. Second step is frying. In a pan put some olive oil and start frying your eggplants until they become slightly brown on both sides (not black!). For this dish you can either do slices or cubes, it doesn't really matter!

3. Prepare pasta as you normally do, boiling it in salted water. While pasta is cooking put some tomato sauce in a sauce pan with some fresh basil and adjust with salt, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to make it more parfumed.

4. As soon as pasta is drained cover it with the tomato sauce and the eggplants/aubergines and grate on top the salted ricotta or instead, if you don't have it, some parmisan cheese. It will still be delicious and you will just ask for more.

*In some families they also like to add some mozzarella cheese in cubes before serving the pasta. They mix all the ingredients together in the pan and then serve with the mozzarella still thready. It is just an addition to the original recipe, but I swear they are both unforgettable and suitable for vegeterians. Enjoy!

Thanks to my friend Giuseppe for sending me the picture of his lovely pasta alla Norma!