Pasta alla Norma — an Italian classic — at Ciao Bello

Although many different versions of the dish’s origins abound, most believe that it was Sicilian comic writer Nino Martoglio (from Catania) who created Pasta alla Norma, one of the great classics of the Italian gastronomic canon: short pasta tossed with tomato, fried eggplant, ricotta salata, and basil.

According to legend, when he first tasted it, he exclaimed, “è una Norma!” as if to say, it is a masterwork like Bellini’s opera.

At Ciao Bello, Tony decided to do the dish with torchietti, a short pasta the shape of which is inspired by a wine press.