Pasta alla Norma Timbale

Wash and dry 3 large eggplants, remove the stem and slice them lengthwise ½ cm thick. Layer them in a colander with salt as needed and let them drain for 1 hour. Meanwhile, brown 0.5 thinly sliced red onion in a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil as needed; add 500 g tomato passata, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 min. Season with salt, add fresh basil as needed and turn off the heat.

Pat the eggplants dry with paper towels and fry them, a couple at a time, in plenty of peanut oil at 170°C, without letting the temperature drop. Drain them on paper towels. Cook 380 g rigatoni in salted boiling water until very al dente, drain them, put them in a bowl with the sauce without the basil and 30 g grated Parmigiano, and stir.

Line a non-stick loaf pan of about 10 x 26 cm with the fried eggplants, placed side by side and overlapping with no gaps. Make a layer of rigatoni arranged next to each other.

Spread 200 g diced provolone over the pasta and make another layer of rigatoni. Continue until the ingredients are used up, finishing with pasta. Press down with the back of a spoon, sprinkle with breadcrumbs as needed and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil as needed.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20 min, until the surface is golden. Take out of the oven and let cool for 10 min. Loosen the edges with a thin-bladed knife and turn out onto a serving plate.

Sprinkle the timbale with ricotta salata as needed, in shavings made with a large-holed grater, and serve.