Swordfish Norma of the Strait. This recipe has very distant roots.
It seems that the name “Norma” was given to the recipe by Nino Martoglio (1870-1921), the famous playwright from Catania, who in front of a dish of pasta thus seasoned exclaimed: “Chista è ‘na vera Norma!“ to indicate supreme goodness, comparing it to the masterpiece of the great composer Vincenzo Bellini, ..
But in the Messina fishing villages during the summer, fishermen hunt swordfish with the characteristic boats: the feluccas. The typical fishing boats with the gangway and the antenna using the harpoon.
After the capture of the swordfish, the fishermen received a part of it, the most battered part, i.e., where it was harpooned, called “a botta”, and the scozzetta, i.e., the dorsal part. Thus, since the early 1900s, the women in my family have combined the classic Norma from the Sicilian hinterland with the swordfish, king of the Strait of Messina
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 633.80 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 54.20 (g) of which sugars 5.51 (g)
- Proteins 43.31 (g)
- Fat 27.47 (g) of which saturated 6.83 (g)of which unsaturated 8.49 (g)
- Fibers 8.94 (g)
- Sodium 787.01 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 500 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Let’s go shopping
- 2 lbs swordfish (about 11 oz in slices and the rest dorsal part)
- 1.4 oz red Tropea onion (chopped)
- 1.1 lbs eggplant (violet variety)
- 5.3 oz ricotta (grated and baked)
- 10 leaves basil
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 3.5 tbsp white wine
- 1.1 qt tomato purée (rustic)
- 12.3 oz pasta (casarecce or macaroni)
Swordfish Norma of the Strait
Tools
What we need to make
- Frying pan
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Colander
- Pot
Preparation
of the Swordfish Norma of the Strait
Dice 1 eggplant, sprinkle with a bit of salt and cover with a weight for about 30 minutes to remove the bitter part.
Then pat it dry with a cloth and fry in plenty of extra virgin olive oil, or alternatively bake for 10 min at 356°F (fan oven).
After cooking, let the eggplant cubes drain in a colander to remove the excess oil. Meanwhile…..
After cooking, let the eggplant cubes drain in a colander to remove the excess oil. Meanwhile…..
Remove the bone and skin from the slices and dice them, cut the scozzetta into pieces.
Chop 1 onion and sauté in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil.
As soon as the onion is golden, add the swordfish cubes
and immediately after the scozzetta pieces. Cook, turning until they turn white, then deglaze with white wine and let it evaporate.
Add the tomato purée, salt, and pepper, and correct the acidity with a pinch of sugar.
Continue to cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, covering with a splatter guard.
As soon as the fish is cooked, remove the whole pieces of scozzetta from the sauce and set them aside, add the eggplant cubes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta and drain it al dente.
Combine the pasta with the sauce, add lots of basil leaves and the grated baked ricotta.
Serve hot. Here is the Swordfish Norma of the Strait
storage
You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
