Pasta Alla Norma

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add a finely chopped spring onion and sweat it gently.
2. Add the basil stems (stems only) to the pan and let them infuse the oil.
3. Slice the eggplant into 1 cm thick strips. Pan-fry the eggplant slices in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.
4. In the same pan, add crushed tomatoes and a little water. Cook the sauce briefly, then remove the basil stems.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the quadrotto pasta for 3–4 minutes less than the package time, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
6. Grate the salted sheep ricotta (ricotta salata) coarsely and set aside.
7. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and spread it on a cutting board. Coat the pasta pieces with the grated ricotta salata, forming a crust.
8. Prepare individual oven-safe molds by lining them with some of the fried eggplant slices.
9. Using tongs, place the ricotta-coated pasta into the molds, creating small nests.
10. Top each mold with remaining eggplant, tomato sauce, a little more grated ricotta, and a few basil leaves.
11. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C (320°F) for 15 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with extra grated ricotta salata, and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.