The story
Pasta alla Norma comes from Catania, the city on Sicily's east coast at the foot of Mount Etna. It combines pasta with tomato sauce, fried aubergine, basil and grated salted ricotta. The name honours Catania's own Vincenzo Bellini, whose 1831 opera Norma was hailed as a masterpiece. The story goes that the Catanese writer Nino Martoglio, tasting the dish, declared it 'a real Norma', meaning something perfect, although the name does not appear in print until decades after his death. Sicilians also call it simply pasta with aubergines, and it remains a proud symbol of Catania's cooking.
Also known as pasta con le melanzane, spaghetti alla Norma, pasta Norma.
On the Meridish menu
Pasta alla Norma was the rice & noodles course on menu No. 22 on October 22, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Pasta with tomato, fried aubergine and salty ricotta, named after the opera Norma, whose composer was born in this city at the foot of a volcano.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
