The Cooking and Cuisine of Sicily

[Andrew Fenton]

And since Andrew mentioned The Leopard with relevant citation, here's a list of classic movies

set in Sicily; Criterion's new release of Visconti's movie based on the novel mentioned is worth renting for a night you're cooking Sicilian at home. 

Yeah, I just watched that the other night. Weird thing; the book is pretty short (200 pages or so), but the movie is really long- close to three hours. And it skips the last quarter of the book! But it has Burt Lancaster, aka "Andrew's favorite actor".

Anyway, that's a great list. I'll second the recommendation of Salvatore Giuliano: it's exciting! Maybe I'll rent that tonight: gonna make the Batali caponata, and that'd be a good match, I think.

[Ling]

Thanks for the link, Klary and Shaya! I couldn't make it last night, though, since I didn't have pine nuts on hand.

I made Sicilian sweet and sour calf's liver instead.

I didn't use a recipe, but the pepper and onion combo was in several recipes I looked at, and I added some balsamic and stock while the onions were cooking down. The creaminess of the liver was delicious with the tangy accompaniment!

[Brad Ballinger]

Well, from one island to another, I guess. The wine world has seen a transformation of the wines that have been exported out of Sicily over the past decade or two. Typically, Sicily was known for Marsala DOC wines, which have always been more popular in Europe than in the United States. Marsala is a wine made in the same manner – sort of – as Sherry and Madeira. It’s fortified like Sherry and Madeira, and it also is exposed to oxygen during its maturation. The wine, made from grapes grown on the western tip of Sicily, is initially vinified dry and then fortified with additional alcohol that can come from a number of different sources, the origin of which affect the “quality” of the wine and how it must be labeled.

There are many different types of Marsala based on color, sweetness, and aging. Let’s start with color. Oro means golden, Ambra means amber, and Rubino means red or ruby. Oro and Ambra wines are made from white grapes and Rubino from black (red) grapes. All three come in Fine, Superiore, and Superiore Riserva designations. Fine wines must be aged of a minimum of one year in wood; Superiore wines a minimum of two years; Superiore Riserva wines a minimum of four years. These wines are usually fortified with some distilled grape alcohol as well as the must that was at one time part of the base wine. They will also be labeled Secco (dry), Semisecco (off-dry) or Dolce (sweet). That’s for the “basic” Marsala (as if that weren’t enough).

There’s a higher level of Marsala called Marsala Vergine. Only grape alcohol (no must) can be used to fortify these wines. Wines labeled Marsala Vergine must be aged in wood a minimum of five years, while wines labeled Marsala Vergine Stravecchio or Marsala Vergine Riserva must be aged a minimum of ten years. These may also carry the labels oro, ambra, rubino, secco, semisecco, or dolce. The dry Vergine wines are usually enjoyed as an aperitif, and the sweet ones as a dessert wine or digestif.

So, yes, you can get different types of Marsala other than the basic “sweet” and “dry” ones from Cantine Florio that we all use for cooking. Florio, by the way, makes Marsala of all types, and they make more than just Marsala.

Another DOC from the region that produces stunning sweet wines is Moscato di Pantelleria. There is also a DOC called Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, which also goes by the name of just Passito di Pantelleria. Pantelleria is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Sicily. The muscat grapes grown here are usually called zibibbo. The wines are luscious and sweet. Some are labeled “liquoroso,” which means they’ve been fortified. Some are labeled “extra,” which means they’ve been aged a minimum of 14 months. Some are labeled “liquoroso extra,” which means – well, you can figure it out. These wines are usually bottled in 375ml or 500ml volume.

One Passito di Pantelleria wine that can be found with relative ease is from Donnafugata and is called “Ben Rye” (rye is pronounce ree – eh). It’s Arabic for “son of the wind” and refers to the windy conditions in which the grapes grow and dry. Given that Panterlleria is very close to north African coast, perhaps the Arabic name is no surprise. Which leads us to another Passito di Pantelleria with an Arabic name – di Bartoli’s “Bukkuram,” which is Arabic for “father of the vineyard.” The wine will cost about twice as much as Ben Rye (but it’s a 500ml), and in my opinion it is indeed twice as good – not to take anything away from Ben Rye.

One other DOC wine that deserves mention is Cerasuolo di Vittoria, made from frappato and nero d’avola grapes grown in the province of Ragusa on the southern part of Sicily. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a hearty red table wine than can be cellar-aged for many years. “Cerasuolo” means “cherry-colored,” which describes the color of the wine – not quite as dark as some other red wines. Planeta makes a very nice one, although probably not as age-worthy as some others, as does Valle dell’Acate.

But at the beginning of this post I mentioned a “transformation.” Many of the wines from Sicily – and most of the “new” ones – simply carry the Sicilia IGT designation. The reds are usually nero d’avola, and some syrah and cabernet sauvignon, and the whites can be chardonnay or made from the same white grapes that go into marsala – catarratto, ansonica, grillo. A couple of well-regarded producers of these types of wines are Donnafugata and Valle dell’Acate. Planeta is a prolific producer of these wines in the area, and the price tags will generally be a bit lower. One wine to try for a fun summer sipper is Donnafugata’s Anthilia made from 50% cataratto and 50% ansonica.

So Sicily is fast becoming known for more than just Marsala. Pretty soon, people may forget about Marsala altogether. Who knows?

[Andrew Fenton]

I made Sicilian sweet and sour calf's liver instead.

Did you ever! That looks amazing.

[Kevin72]

Thanks as always for the wine info, Brad. Any experience with malvasia? In Dallas we have a hard time coming by the dessert wines due to the alcohol content, and so don't get much beyond marsala for sweet Sicilian wines.

[Brad Ballinger]

Thanks as always for the wine info, Brad. Any experience with malvasia?  In Dallas we have a hard time coming by the dessert wines due to the alcohol content, and so don't get much beyond marsala for sweet Sicilian wines.

←

Not much malvasia. The only wine from Sicily I'm aware of that is made from almost all malvasia is Malvasia delle Lipari, which comes from the Lipari islands northwest of Messina. The Passito di Pantelleria dessert wines that aren't liquorosi have roughly the same alcohol content as any table wine from the area.

[Pontormo]

Thank you, too, Brad. (My bottle of cooking Marsala is Santini vs. Cantine Florio.)

And Ling, gorgeous! Looks like you've come up with a solution to the old North/South problem in Italy by transforming Venice's famous fegato into a Sicilian dish. By the way, Molto Mario has a recipe for calf's liver with orange, i.e a flavor strongly tied to Sicily.

FYI: Another article from the NYTs: "In Sicily, an Appetite for the New," where you'll see platings of elegant currency.

* * *

I relied on Batali's book last night by preparing a recipe traditionally made with rabbit, Pollo in Stemperata, a one-dish meal which Clifford Wright says is not uncommon on the island. Since antipasti, in particular, tend to be skipped or eaten separately as a kind of snack or merende, Sicily is kind of an Anti-Piemonte.

The chicken is sauteed until golden then set aside while tomatoes, eggplant, colored bell peppers, potato, capers, dried chilies and pitted olives are tossed in with olive oil. All are united with red wine and simmered. At the end, mint, parsley and red chili pepper flakes are added and the dish is meant to rest until it reaches room temperature.

It was fine, but just that. I'd give it around an 83, a solid B without the qualifying minus but lacking potential for greatness. Either I am getting sick of chicken stews, braises, etc. or I missed the onions and/or garlic, ingredients whose omission in the recipe made me curious. (Who is it here who has "Eat More Chicken Skin" as a signature line? I agree on roasted, but s/he can have mine when it comes to preparations like this.) For leftovers, I think I will prepare a simple cuscusa with pistachios, zest and currants or golden raisins.

* * *

Speaking of greatness, get your hands on Clifford Wright's Cucina Paradiso.* The author is a respected authority in Middle Eastern Studies and concentrates on the Arabian legacy of Sicilian cooking. I picked up a copy at the library yesterday and find just about everything worth making. Slim, no pictures, but pithy. In addition to the brief introductory essay, recipes, and extensive bibliography it supplies, there is a section devoted to the Sicilian pantry.

There is a recipe for cookies I will make with my pistachio paste. It is actually similar to the Christmas cookie recipe Alberto posted on Il Forno last December in calling for nut flours that you are expected to grind yourself. However, I'd like to know why one is asked to include PEANUTS along with almonds and hazelnuts. Did someone forget to tell me peanuts were brought to Italy from the New World along with squash, tomatoes or were they carted over in the 9th century by the Saracens along with oranges, pistachios...?

*Cucina, feminine; Paridoso, masculine. I forget how this relates to our linguistic questions concerning "salsa marinara." Maybe it doesn't.

[Kevin72]

All the veggies in that dish didn't appeal to me when I was trying to decide which of Mario's numerous Sicilian-style braised chicken dishes to make last year. I finally decided to go with his chicken in vin'cotto, wherein a separate braising liquid of red wine, cinnamon, and sugar are prepared, steeped, and then added to chicken after it has been browned. Even though you may be sick of braises and braised chicken, this is a worthwhile pursuit and really sends up an incredible aroma.

Incidentally, I forgot to mention that Mario's Sicily shows are real standouts and I think a couple are even coming up on FTV this month. He's absolutely giddy and enthusiastic about the region and it's hard not to catch that feeling.

[Pontormo]

Noted.

After looking through Wright, I'm wondering whether Sicily is going to be my new favorite region. I soooo want to go there.

ETA: The recipe for chicken made with vin' cotto does look VERY good as mentioned in Kevin's post above. However, here's the grrrr we've made repeatedly this year , it's not listed in the index of the book as a Sicilian or even Sicilian-inspired dish. There's nothing in the paragraph above the recipe--only give aways are some of the ingredients, including Sicilian olives. Thus, I overlooked it. I've made a so-called Tunisian or Moroccan chicken with eggplant & almonds (epicurious) and eons ago, one with olives (Silver Palate) that I like, so...

And rather than adding a new post, to Andrew regarding the caponata, thanks for the comments. I already prepared something else with the half of a large eggplant I added to last night's dinner to allow flavors to develop over time. However, trusting Shaya and Chufi, I intend to make the caponata once local eggplants appear on the scene. My balsamic is not of high quality, so I might just switch to a traditional red wine vinegar for a pronounced sweet & sour taste.

Edited July 8, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Here is the Batali eggplant caponata:

The spices were interesting, but the combination of the balsamic vinegar and sugar made it way too sweet for me. If I make it again, I'd leave out the sugar entirely, and maybe swap some of the balsamic for another vinegar.

Next up, a little tuna with olives, capers and herbs (basil, parsley, mint):

Basic and good. We had some leftovers, which I'm going to add to tomato sauce for pasta al tonno. yum!

[Chufi]

I made a bit of a mess of my first Sicilian dinner. I was looking through Antonio Carluccio's "Southern Italian Feast" which has a number of Sicilian dishes, and this recipe for skewers of bread and veal rolls caught my eye. Bought all the ingredients, started cooking, read the recipe again, and realized this wasn't Sicilian at all... But then I remembered that Bugialli has a Sicilian recipe for skewers of meatballs and bread in his book, so I looked that up, and made the lemon parsley sauce for that one to go with my skewers.

I also made the Sicilian cauliflower (with pinenuts, raisins and basil) from the Bugialli book, but instead of braising the cauliflower I roasted it, and I didn't add anchovies, because I thought I had some, but I didn't.

Well at least dessert was wholly Sicilian. (yes I know there is more cream than granita )

Tonight was dinner for one and I took advantage of that to do something labor-intensive.. as much as I love artichokes, I hate cleaning them, and dinner for 1 means I only have to clean 1!

Pasta con fritella, artichokes, broad beans and peas, all fresh from the market. Delicious, vegetable heaven on a plate:

Dessert was the pistachio cake from the Bugialli book, but I modified the recipe a lot, using flour instead of potatostarch, no icing, and I did not drizzle with marsala because I thought I had some but didn't (there's a theme here ). I aded a little bit of orange flower water to the batter, and drizzled with orange juice. Served with a perfect white nectarine.

[Chufi]

And now, a question. A friend's birthday is coming up next week and I volunteered (well, demanded, actually ) to make dessert. About 10 people. I was thinking, what a great opportunity to make cassata!

I have looked at several recipes and they all are very different, mostly when it comes to the shape of the cake. I am leaning towards making a loaf pound cake, slicing that up, and make a leyered cassata also in a loaf shape. Ricotta, chocolate chips, candied fruits as filling. I've seen one recipe with chocolate frosting, not so sure about that.

Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe, or have you eaten one that was so good that you can give some tips? Thanks!

[IamAFoodie]

I'm wondering if the menus in Sicily are in Italian or Sicilian?

[athinaeos]

This thread brings back memories of two visits to the blessed land of Sicilia!

I would like to share with you two images, one from the sea and another from the land.

Please note that the octopus was boiled for a couple of minutes only, was uncut, and served as it came out of the pot!

The aromas of the dish were out of this world, provided you ate it all!

The artichokes were sweet and tender, inviting the traveller to relax and enjoy! This dish is the equivalent of five hours in the sauna, jacuzzi, turkish bath, etc etc....

I owe the pleasure of both experiences to the good people of "Picolo Napoli", a trattoria near the docks of Palermo, frequented by locals only.

[Andrew Fenton]

I'm wondering if the menus in Sicily are in Italian or Sicilian?

Pretty much everywhere in Italian. My guess is that a restaurant with a menu in dialect would be doing it as an affectation. Outside of old people in really hick towns, I don't think there are many Sicilians who only speak Sicilian.

[Pontormo]

Athinaeos, thank you for sharing your culinary memories from Palermo!

Chufi: I linked Kevin's nerdy Sicilian posts early in the thread. Cassata is part of one of his later meals. In Italy, I just don't remember all that many loaf cakes since most were elaborate things you picked up at your favorite pasticcieria and presented as a guest on Sunday visits after church when there's nothing to do except eat and listen to your cousin complain about his boss.

Here's the results from google image search, including Cassata High School and Christine Cassata. Decoration counts more than shape and the candied fruits look rather de rigueur. Speaking of which, what do people buy for candied fruit? Make your own? I admit to a prejudice I would like to overcome this month. (I also thought ricotta is traditional; with candied fruit, the chocolate sounds like overkill but see further.)

Consulting one of the cookbooks I borrowed for this month's focus, I notice that Nick Malgieri has two different versions in his *Great Italian Desserts.* One's called pasticcieria style and is quite elaborate, the other's called casalinga, or home-style and is less complicated. Both require several days of work, beginning with the pan di spagna. The ricotta is supposed to be "dry" style whatever that means and does in fact call for a bit of chocolate in filling. There's rum syrup and for the shop version, apricot glaze and pasta reale--a marzipan fondant coating that is dyed green. The domestic one forgoes the glaze and marzipan and instead gets covered in whipped cream with chopped blanched pistachios pressed on sides. On top: Candied cherries and citron both, but in the La di da version, chocolate, too melted and with oil, used to pipe scrolls and flourishes.

The pistachio cake looks wonderful, yes? Even the so-called mistake sounds good.

* * *

I just got back from the farmers market with what might be the last of the purple cauliflower (often called "broccoli" in Sicily according to Wright) left now that the heat is on. I also picked up pretty string beans, the first of the field tomatoes, mint, parsley, basil, and yesterday, almonds, pistachios, thin strips of beef, prosciutto, currants, oil-packed tuna, bread to make into crumbs, red wine vinegar, figs...

La Terra Trema has been moved up to assume the first spot in my rental queue. About to boil water for Spaghetti alla Siciliana (Hazan's version of Norma). More later in the week.

BTW: I remain enthusiastic about Clifford Wright's recipes and interesting focus. His introduction is a bit stiff, though. Not a vivid writer of historical and regional overviews, at least in this first effort. (And since it is almost time: Sforza Italia!)

Edited July 9, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[FoodMan]

First off, a warm BIG Congrats to ITALY the new World Cup champions. It really was a fun game.

Lovely pasta Chufi. Looks like you have some nice fava beans.

How was that octopus eaten. plain? wih sauce?

To go with the game I of course made some lovely Sicilian food, nothing too fussy though, more like perfect game watching-no-silverware-needed food.

The day before I made and formed some Pane Siciliano from Reinhart's "The Breadbaker's Apprentice". this was baked this morning.

I also cooked up some eggplant caponata based on Mario's recipe from "simple Italian food". Since my herbs in the garden are doing exceedingly well due to the current two weeks of rain, I took a page from Jamie Oliver and finished my caponata with loadsa herbs (basil, mint, oregano). Served the caponata on sliced toasted pane Siciliano and topped it with Ricotta Salata. BTW, many cookbook authors including Mario here either like their eggplant undercooked or are simply wrong aboput the timing. There is no way eggplant will cook in 5 or 10 minutes, and undecooked eggplant is nasty. I cooked this nice and long. I love the jammy texture it gets.

I also made the Sicilian Farmer's Bruschetta from "Italian Country Table" using the same bread and freshly made creamy ricotta cheese. Oh, yeah, the tomatoes are also from the garden.

Dolci was watermelon pudding from Clifford Wright's "Cucina Paradiso" . This was so good and refreshing I actually ate two of them. It is so Arabic in flavor that it is surprising I've never eaten it in Lebanon with it's rosewater cinnamon and psitachios. Well the chocolate chips are not Arabic, but hey that's just one ingredient.

[Ling]

Thanks for the pictures, athinaeos. I especially like the bold presentation of the whole octopus!

The Pane Siciliano and both types of bruschetta look awesome, FoodMan. Did you make the eggplant caponata as written? Did you find it too sweet, like Andrew did? I'm planning to make it for a vegetarian Sicilian meal on Thursday.

[Chufi]

Ling, when I made the caponata I used a half the amount of sugar the recipe stated, because I am used to American recipes being often a little too sweet for me, and it was just right for me that way.

[Pontormo]

Elie: I love the shape of your loaves. The watermelon pudding looks wonderful too, here made with your own candied lemon peel.

Mimmetta lo Motte has an elaborate version of the dessert calling for a layer of cake (pan di Spagna), orange flower water and Conserva di Zucca in which Chayote Squash is used. No chocolate. Cake forms base. Second layer is the watermelon liquid mixed with pistachios and squash preserves. Chill. Then final layer is plain watermelon liquid with nuts sprinkled on top.

It's called Trionfo della Gola, or Triumph of Gluttony. Since you only had two of yours, I think you're safe.

(And Chufi, thanks for the caponata advice.)

[Kevin72]

Athinaeos, were the octopus and artichokes stuffed? I love the idea of walking in off the docks and getting such a fantastic homey meal.

And Elie wins for "most gusto" this month! Bread and digestivi already! That bread looks fantastic; I just remembered that I needed to stock up and make a few loaves this month as well. I'll be interested to see you tackle Puglia's famous breads next month!

I liked that watermelon pudding as well, though I would omit the chips next time I made it; maybe it was because they melted into the pudding and made it look unappealing when I did it, but they just took away from the harmonious flavors of the rest of the dish.

[Kevin72]

Here again, seems like we've all got the fever for a particular item already: caponata. I made mine over the weekend:

Went a little heavy on the olives. And, I got to use some of the pane curasau!

For the main, I made the next dish I hope we all get a chance to make this month: pasta con le sarde, the dish that to me symbolizes how exotic, aromatic, and layered Sicilian cooking is.

It's so much more than what you think it will be when you make it. To me, it brings to mind really good Thai or Vietnamese dishes since it incorporates so many basic flavors at once: sweet, pungent, spicy, salty; in other words addictive, heady, and complex. And it even works well with canned sardines.

[Kevin72]

And now, a question. A friend's birthday is coming up next week and I volunteered (well, demanded, actually  ) to make dessert. About 10 people. I was thinking, what a great opportunity to make cassata!

I have looked at several recipes and they all are very different, mostly when it comes to the shape of  the cake. I am leaning towards making a loaf pound cake, slicing that up, and make a leyered cassata also in a loaf shape. Ricotta, chocolate chips, candied fruits as filling. I've seen one recipe with chocolate frosting, not so sure about that.

Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe, or have you eaten one that was so good that you can give some tips? Thanks!

←

I've only made it the one time last year, from the Sweet Sicily recipe, whic was pretty good. I'd be shy of a chocolate frosting as well.

So, while I can't give anything close to an authoritative, "which is best" recipe, I will advise you to make it in advance and give yourself plenty of time to do it; as I'm sure you've noticed there's a hell of a lot of ingredients and different steps. And, it improves as it sits and the various liquors soak into the cake itself.

[athinaeos]

Athinaeos, were the octopus and artichokes stuffed?  I love the idea of walking in off the docks and getting such a fantastic homey meal.

←

No, they were pure as mother nature created them.

To answer FoodMan's question, the octopus is eaten as it comes out of the pot, without anything, not even salt or olive oil. The bouquet of delicate natural flavors would be destroyed otherwise.

I would like to express my admiration for all the wonderful dishes that have already been presented in this forum, and suggest that we find a way for "realizing" the experience, by organizing gastronomic meetings in Sicily and other places of interest.

Cheers

[Shaya]

Elie, thanks for showing those gorgeous loaves of bread. I've been wanting to make them ever since I got Reinhart's book. Then I got shy when my semolina gnocchi tanked last month. Can you tell me exactly what kind of semolina flour you used for the bread - texture, color, name?

Thanks!