Lasagna alla Norma Recipe

THE TOMATO SAUCE

1. In a sauce pan pour the tomato passata, add two cloves of garlic, the basil leaves and a pinch of fine salt to taste.
2. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. The tomato sauce have to be quite runny. So if you see that it's too thick add some water. That's necessary to bake tha lasagna to perfection. When ready, turn off the heat and set aside. It's better not to add oil to the tomato sauce in order not to make the lasagna too greasy.

THE FILLING

1. After washing and drying the eggplants, slice them lengthwise. Make some slices about 1 cm (½ inch) thick. Then cut the ends of the eggplant into cubes (the first and last slice).
2. Fry the eggplant slices in plenty of extra virgin olive oil, both the slices and the cubes. Fry them to a temperature of 170°C (340°F). Do not exceed the recommended temperature: check with a kitchen thermometer.
3. Drain with a skimmer and place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Set aside. DO NOT salt the fried eggplants. During the preparation of the eggplant lasagna you will need to add the salted ricotta which is already very salty.
4. Place the fresh ricotta in a bowl. Add two or three tablespoons of tomato sauce and mix everything until you get a reddish, homogeneous and thick cream. Set aside.

THE LAYERS

1. Take a 13x9 inch lasagna pan and spread a little ricotta cream on the bottom.
2. Then place the first layer of lasagna.
3. Cover the lasagna with a little ricotta cream.
4. Then add a layer of fried eggplant slices.
5. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a little grated salted ricotta. This cheese is very tasty so do not overdo it with the quantity between one layer and another.
6. Keep going with the layers until you run out of ingredients, taking care to finish the last layer with only the ricotta cream on top.

THE BAKING

1. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for 20 minutes.
2. When cooked, take your lasagne alla Norma out of the oven and add the diced fried eggplant and more grated salted ricotta.
3. Decorate with a few basil leaves and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.