The document provides background information on the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini, which premiered in 1831 in Milan, Italy. It then discusses the classic Italian pasta dish Pasta alla Norma, named after the opera. The recipe includes tomatoes and eggplant, which are types of nightshades. The document proceeds to describe nightshades in more detail, discussing their origins and uses. It focuses on tomatoes and eggplants, describing their histories, production levels worldwide, and roles in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.

1. Norma
and
the
Nightshades
December
26,
1831,
Norma
premiered
at
Teatro
all
Scala
in
Milano.
Composed
by
Vincenzo
Bellini
and
Libretto
written
by
Felice
Romani,
Norma
is
a
story
of
broken
hearts.
Norma
and
her
husband,
a
Roman
soldier
named
Pollione,
both
secretly
fall
in
love
with
another.
This
leads
to
a
classic
tragedia
lirica
accompanied
by
the
beautiful
romantic
melodies
composed
by
Sicily’s
own,
Vincenzo
Bellini.
Norma
is
considered
one
of
Bellini’s
greatest
works.
In
Catania,
home
to
Bellini
and
the
beautiful
Mt.
Etna,
this
Sicilian
classic
was
created
in
the
mimic
the
infamous
volcano,
a
mountain
of
pasta
running
with
lava
and
snowcapped
mountain
peaks.
It
is
fabled
that
playwright
Nino
Martoglio
took
one
bite
of
this
and
exclaimed,
“È
la
Norma,”
as
if
to
say
it
was
just
as
beautiful
as
Bellini’s
opera.
La
Ricetta
Classica
Traditionally,
Pasta
alla
Norma
is
made
with
some
type
of
macheroni,
tomatoes,
eggplant,
and
ricotta
salata.
At
Pizza/Pasta,
we
do
our
slightly
different
with
mozzarella,
instead
of
the
salted
ricotta:
Rigatoni
con
Melanzane
e
Mozzarella
Description:
Rigatoni
with
Eggplant,
Tomatoes,
Basil
and
Housemade
Mozzarella
Cook
Time:
10
–
15
Minutes
Allergies:
Gluten,
Dairy,
Nightshade
So,
those
allergies
left
me
wondering
.
.
.
WHAT
IS
A
NIGHTSHADE
?
Nightshades
(family
name
Solanaceae),
or
solano
in
italiano,
are
most
typically
known
as
deadly,
inedible
plants
or
fruits.
The
word
nightshade
is
derived
from
the
German
nachtschatten,
referring
to
its
dark
colors
and
poisonous
properties.
FUN
FACT!
The
deadly
belladonna
is
known
the
world
over
to
be
poisonous
to
humans
and
animals
alike.
This
plant
is
so
famous
that
William
Shakespeare
uses
it
as
a
means
of
biological
warfare
in
“the
Scottish
play,”
(shhhhh)
Macbeth.
There
are,
however,
a
handful
of
nightshades
that
can
be
consumed,
two
of
which
are
near
and
dear
to
the
Mediterranean
diet!
The
Tomato
…or
pomodoro,
as
we
know
it
in
Italian,
actually
originated
in
Mexico!
Even
the
names
by
which
we
know
this
beloved
fruit
are
not
original.
The
first
tomatoes
are
said
to
have
been
brought
to
the
Old
World
by
famous
Spanish
conquistador
Hernán
Cortés.
These
tomatoes,
or
tomate
in
Spanish
being
derived
from
Italian
tenor,
Mario
del
Monaco
as
Pollione,
and
world-­‐renown
soprano
Maria
Callas
as
Norma

2. Nahuatl
(Aztecan)
word
tomatl,
were
much
different
than
those
we
now
know.
Tomatoes
have
since
evolved
through
the
years;
there
are
over
10,000
different
known
varieties
of
tomato!
FUN
FACT!
The
tomatoes
brought
to
the
Old
World
by
Cortés
were
actually
more
of
a
yellow
color.
Originally
named
“pomi
d’oro”
or
“golden
apple,”
by
Pietro
Andrea
Mattioli
in
1544,
the
word
has
since
evolved
to
become
as
we
now
know
it,
pomodoro.
Tomatoes
are
used
the
world
over
for
a
variety
of
different
cooking
methods:
they
eaten
raw,
cooked,
canned,
turned
into
paste,
as
well
as
various
other
delicacies,
including
a
classic
brunch
cocktail,
the
Bloody
Mary.
The
Eggplant
What
kind
of
person
would
name
their
kid
“eggplant?”
Really
though?
Actually,
it
was
the
English
that
created
this
word
for
themselves
after
recognizing
the
egg-­‐
like
shape
of
the
young
fruits
of
this
popular
nightshade.
The
earliest
record
of
eggplants
are
in
the
Qimin
Yaoshu,
a
book
of
Chinese
botany,
in
544
AD.
Solanum
melongena,
as
it
is
know
in
Latin,
is
said
to
have
been
brought
to
Europe
by
the
Arabs
in
the
12th
century,
most
likely
ending
up
first
in
Spain,
before
it
quickly
made
it’s
way
around
the
continent.
Including
abundance
in
Mediterranean
cooking,
eggplant
is
even
more
popular
in
Asia.
China
produces
58%
of
the
world’s
eggplants,
with
an
additional
25%
being
produced
in
India,
and
a
total
of
90%
worldwide
including
the
following
three
countries,
Iran,
Egypt
and
Turkey,
respectively.
FUN
FACT!
Eggplant
contains
0.01mg/100g
of
Nicotine,
which
means
approximately
20lbs
of
eggplant
is
equivalent
to
the
level
of
nicotine
found
in
one
cigarette!
Shown
below
is
a
map
demonstrating
global
tomato
and
eggplant
production,
proportional
to
the
colored
circles;
tomatoes
are
show
in
red
and
eggplants
in
green.