Trying Two Traditional Sicilian Dishes

 

Eggplants are currently abundant, so Emily and I decided to try making two traditional Sicilian dishes that feature this vegetable that is so popular here. We had eaten both of these dishes before, but we had never tried cooking them: Pasta alla Norma and Caponata di Melanzane.

We took the recipes from my favorite Italian cooking YouTube Channel: Pasta Grammar. The hostess of the channel is a Calabrese living in the U.S. with her American husband. You can watch her prepare both of these recipes, and some others, in their video about eggplant. I provide the link for the written recipes below.

We first tried Pasta alla Norma when we visited Catania in 2022. Since it is said to have been created in Catania, I was intent on trying it for the first time there. I was really surprised how much I liked it, as I've never been a huge fan of eggplant. I guess I'd just never had good eggplant before then! 

Aside from the eggplant, I'd say the defining feature of this pasta dish is the salted ricotta cheese. Yum! It is one of my favorite cheeses.

We've also had Pizza alla Norma, featuring the same flavors. This pizza used oven-baked ricotta, instead of salted ricotta. This is also a yummy cheese. Who knew ricotta came in so many varieties?!

I was the chef for the Pasta alla Norma. The ingredients are pretty straightforward: eggplant, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, salt, basil, short pasta, and ricotta salata. These are very easy to find, but the cheese could be challenging outside of Italy. Pasta Grammar suggests substituting pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano, but I think feta might be a better choice, because of its saltiness. 

Step one is frying the eggplant. 

Ricotta salata

The finished product. This dish was absolutely delicious. My only (tiny) complaint was that it dirtied a lot of dishes and pans for the small number of ingredients. Recipe.

Our first taste of Caponata was at a delicious lunch with cousin Nelly and Carmelo in Augusta in 2023. Our local butcher shop regularly has it on offer for takeaway, which is nice. Emily may have sampled some from there, but I think she really developed a taste for it when she tried it at a Palermo restaurant last June. We're all fans, so we were excited to try making it.

Caponata in center of appetizer platter at Trattoria 448 in Augusta.

Emily's Caponata in Palermo. Looks yummy, especially with a nice glass of wine.

Emily was the chef for the Caponata di Melanzane. This also involved frying the eggplants. As well, there were more ingredients, so a bit more prep / chopping. However, it didn't dirty as many dishes (bonus, since I was the dishwasher!). We felt that Caponata probably has a bit of variation depending on the cook, so Emily decided to leave out the pine nuts and celery. She added a bit of oregano and parsley infused olive oil.

Fried eggplant. Emily and I agreed that both recipes could use less olive oil than required for preparing the eggplant.

The chef at work. 

Finished product, enjoyed with a nice slice of fresh bread. This dish was also delicious. Recipe.

Conclusion: We intend to make both again and hope you'll want to try as well. Buon appetito!