The Cooking and Cuisine of Sicily

[Pontormo]

Was the tuna in the pasta fresh? 

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No, but pretty good type in OO.

Ling, Klary owns the book you've borrowed.

[hathor]

Ciao tutti!

What a fun month....maybe we should extend it?

Ling, the pepper were raw. Today they wound up stuffed and baked. I'll be sorry when they go out of season.

Klary, ever since your photo of the coffee granita, I had to have some, so that what we had last night. It was soooo decadent.

And Acevola, I was thinking of you as we were sipping some of Planeta's La Segreta.

Pontormo, are you saying that maybe I shouldn't bother tracking down Pomp & Sustenance??

The other day, we were driving somewhere down by Perugia, and I saw a sign for a Sicilian ristorante. I think that's the first time I've ever seen another region's cuisine recognized in Umbria. Not counting the occassional "Chinese' restaurant. Sicilian wines are easy to come by, but that's about it.

[Kevin72]

Ciao tutti!

What a fun month....maybe we should extend it?

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Well, these threads are always open to further comment and cooking exploits . . . witness Pontormo's Sardinian meal she posted a few days ago. But we can't take away from poor Puglia!

[Pontormo]

Pontormo, are you saying that maybe I shouldn't bother tracking down Pomp & Sustenance??

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No, no, no, nothing like that. I wanted to reserve judgment until I spent more than a few hours in superficial browsing, thus the inquiry.

The author's a graceful writer who shares her passion for her research and subject in a direct, natural style. I definitely would like to read her memoir; her story's interesting. She takes advantage of the lack of copyright law in a liberal use of illustrations from the old books she finds in libraries throughout Palermo in particular, including conventual ones, and offers long passages from both local literature and travelers. I love these kinds of sources and appreciate the broad range of cultural contexts in which she sites ( ) Sicilian food.

Following the desire of many cookbook authors to find an alternative way of organizing her material, Mary Taylor Simeti decided to act as the historian above all else, moving chronological from Homeric Sicily and Ancient Rome to medieval Arab transformations onward, proceeding rapidly to the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, presented in terms of sacred and civic ritual, monastic kitchens, street food, etc. until culminating as most of us do in ending our days when in Italy at this time of year: by celebrating gelato.

While this is not as convenient for a cook in search of a way to prepare the swordfish on the counter as successive chapters on antipasti through dolci, the index is thorough.

Starting the first chapter, I was thrown by the recipes selected. One of the first is for 'strattu, or estrattu which Anna Tasca Lanza also includes in the other book I borrowed at the same time. I just couldn't figure out what a recipe for uncooked tomato paste* was doing in the middle of Ancient Greece without even an explanation or justification such as pointing out to the reader that she will tackle the 16th-century tomato and 19th-century sauces later, but the "primitive" method of concentrating the fruit is akin to something oh Cyclops did with the brains he smashed when Odysseus visited.

There are also recipes for pasta, Christmas cookies and Cuccia, or Saint Lucy's Pudding in this chapter, though it looks as if she does explain herself. Greeks were sea farers who ate fish. The Cuccia is made from farro, thus can be traced back to a ritual dish of boiled seeds Greeks made in honor of Apollo and to Roman dishes reported in Apicius, now recast as a Christian expression of devotion at a particular point in the liturgical year. This last example is intriguing and makes a lot of sense to me. The 'strattu, no.

If I had the chance to buy the book for a lot less than the $50-$85 figures that are quoted as the lowest for this out-of-print source at Amazon.com, I would. Wright can get a bit monotonous (look at all those "o"s; even the word's a bit monotonous) with pine nuts, currants, sultanes and cinnamon in just about every recipe, but what I like about his book is the focus and the real difference between the cuisine he presents and the Italian foods I as a foreigner tend to cook. I also like the one book by Anna Tasca Lanza I've seen, thinking the two balance each other out. Hell, I'd like them all.

*Requires a long stretch of intense heat and sun, you all.

Edited July 19, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Franci]

Involtini di tonno

Edited July 19, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Pontormo]

Franci: Gorgeous!!!

A couple of questions:

1) Did you purchase your tuna in thin slices in London, or....?

2) What did you serve with these involtini?

[Franci]

Franci:  Gorgeous!!!

A couple of questions:

1) Did you purchase your tuna in thin slices in London, or....?

2) What did you serve with these involtini?

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Thanks I'm happy you like them. You could do the same with swordfish, of course.

I am lucky eunogh to live right in front of Billingsgate market in London (the wholesale market) and there I can buy whole fillets of tuna for quite cheap. Some of the fillet I sliced with a filetting knife while very cold, then I flatten tje slices between two pieces of parchment paper with the flat side of a chef knife (like for meat)

These involtini ended up to be part of a very causual dinner with some tomatoes and onion salad, smoked swordfish and marinated anchovies.

[Shaya]

Franci, those involtini look amazing. Did you broil them or pan-fry? And for how long?

[Franci]

Franci, those involtini look amazing.  Did you broil them or pan-fry?  And for how long?

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I did broil to the max of my oven and they were still juicy while hot. Deep fried are certainly better (a sicilian friend of mine raccomanded no more than 90 seconds). If you deep fry prepare the involtini with advance and keep refrigerated

Edited July 19, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Franci, I'll join the others in saying how lovely those involtini look.

And that it's striking how many kinds of involtini there are in Sicilian cooking. With the partial exception of fish, Sicilians mostly don't seem to like "plain" cuts of meat; it's more likely to be wound up with some other stuff. I suppose it's a reaction to meat scarcity. But it's also a way to incorporate fantasia into cooking...

[Shaya]

After seeing Franci's involtini I had to make some of my own; these are done with chicken. Grilled on my grill pan then roasted. Served with Cavatappi in my sauce of roasted peppers. They were really delicious. My husband says it was some of the best chicken he's ever had. Thanks for the inspiration, Franci.

Involtini alla Siciliana - based Mario's version of veal involtini

[ludja]

The involtini look great.

It cooled off a little today and I had some nice ripe tomatoes so thanks to this thread I opened up Bugialli's "Foods of Sicily and Sardinia".

I made "Vermicelli al Tonno e Capperi". Sauteed onions and garlic, then add tomatoes which have been pushed through the fine holes of a food mill, chopped parsley, capers and canned tuna in olive oil, drained. Simmer for ~ 15 min and serve with shredded basil on top. The tomatoes were actually my first "good ones" of the summer, big, local red beauties. It was a nice way to use them.

My other inspiration for cooking Sicilian was my viewing of "The Leopard" on dvd yesterday. Wonderful movie with incredible Sicilian scenery. There is a banquet scene and although the food is not focused on per se, you can fill in the blanks of the formal, multicourse meal iwth your imagination, especially after reading this thread. If you can get the new (2004) Dvd release do watch the longer, untrimmed Italian version with English subtitles; I found it more enjoyable than the dubbed English version. I read the book many years ago but this was my first viewing of this classic Italian film.

[Franci]

After seeing Franci's involtini I had to make some of my own; these are done with chicken.  Grilled on my grill pan then roasted.  Served with Cavatappi in my sauce of roasted peppers.  They were really delicious.  My husband says it was some of the best chicken he's ever had.    Thanks for the inspiration, Franci.

Shaya, I am really happy that my involtini inspired such an happy dinner, yours look very good!

[hathor]

Kevin, you are absolutely right...we can go back and visit Sicily whenever we want. I think I was just reacting to how quickly July is slipping away.

Thanks Pontormo for the book review...I think I'm going to have to wait until I get back to the States and to the library. I don't get the Greeks and tomato paste thing either....that's impossible.

Franci, those involtini look just beautiful!! What good luck for you to be so close to a good fish source.

I've just found a great ricotta source, so I might try some cannoli over the weekend. Depends on how hot it is....we should all be discussing this at some beach in Sicily....

[pedie]

I've just found a great ricotta source, so I might try some cannoli over the weekend.

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I know how treasured a good ricotta source is...so on the chance that those of you who live in the Los Angeles area are not aware of Gioia Cheese Co. I will share their information.

Their company is located in So. El Monte at 1605 Portrero Ave. Besides the creamist ricotta they are famous for their authentic Buratta (featured at Valentino Ristorante) and fresh mozzarella in balls or knots.

Vito and Monica are the owners...from Puglia. Monica works the front office and if you call ahead (626-444-6015), she will hold as little as 4 pounds of ricotta for you to pick up.

[Pontormo]

My other inspiration for cooking Sicilian was my viewing of "The Leopard" on dvd yesterday.  Wonderful movie with incredible Sicilian scenery.  There is a banquet scene and although the food is not focused on per se, you  can fill in the blanks of the formal, multicourse meal iwth your imagination, especially after reading this thread. 

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In case you missed it, Andrew first mentioned the book here, I believe. I agree about this movie. Found a copy of Vittorini's Coversation in Sicily on my shelves the other day & before the week is over, I'll watch the fish you ate being ritualistically slaughtered in La Terra trema. We're all getting lots of Sicilian culture this month.

[ludja]

I'll add to our Sicilian bookshelf The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.  While it's not a cookbook (or about food per se) it's almost certainly the greatest novel written about Sicily, and it features a couple of great food-related scenes.  Here's one, describing a dinner party and the dish of honor:

The Prince was too experienced to offer Sicilian guests, in a town of the interior, a dinner beginning with soup, and he infringed the rules of haute cuisine all the more readily as he disliked it himself.  But rumours of the barbaric foreign usage of serving an insipid liquid as first course had reached the notables of Donnafugata too insistently for them not to quiver with a slight residue of alarm at the start of a solemn dinner like this.  So when three lackeys in green, gold and powder entered, each holding a great silver dish containing a towering macaroni pie, only four of the twenty at table avoided showing pleased surprise; the Prince and Princess from foreknowledge, Angelica from affectation and Concetta from lack of appetite.  All the others (including Tancredi, I regret to say) showed their relief in varying ways, from the fluty and ecstatic grunts of the notary to the sharp squeak of Francesco Paolo.  But a threatening circular stare from the host soon stifled these improper demonstrations.

Good manners apart, though, the aspect of these monumental dishes of macaroni was worthy of the quivers of admiration they evoked.  The burnished gold of the crusts, the fragrance of sugar and cinnamon they exuded, were but preludes to the delights released from the interior when the knife broke the crust; first came a spice-laden haze, then chicken livers, hard boiled eggs, sliced ham, chicken and truffles in masses of piping hot, glistening macaroni, to which the meat juice gave an exquisite hue of suede.

I love how Tomasi uses the pie as a symbol of a peculiarly decadent Sicilian luxury-- no insipid French soups here!-- filled with spices and truffles and surrounded by gold. The reactions of the diners, and the miniature character sketches they provide, are also terrific.

Now, who's up for baking a big ol' macaroni pie?

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Yes, how could I forget...

[Andrew Fenton]

Yes, how could I forget...

Hey, it's been a long thread! I can barely remember what I read last week. The most important thing is, you watched (and enjoyed!) the movie.

Pontormo, I admit that I've never watched La Terra Trema. I'll also admit that I'm a little intimidated by it; two and a half hours of neorealist Sicilian fishermen... Well, it's a classic, and no doubt for a reason. I'll go rent it before the end of the month.

Speaking of classics, I made pasta con sarde last night, and it was crazy delicious. I was a little short of sardines (underestimated the number I'd need to buy) and so pimped up the recipe with some tinned anchovies. Wow. It was like... you know how Randy Rhoads died? In a plane that crashed head-first into a tour bus? This was like that. Only for "plane" read "my tongue" and for "tour bus" read "umami". AND I LIKED IT.

The downside-- and if a career in heavy metal has taught me anything, it's that there's always a downside-- is that working with fresh sardines is a little gross. I'm cool with cleaning fish, but sardines are tough to work with. There's something about the size of a sardine (plump, yet fits neatly in your fist) and texture (firm yet quivering) that makes me flinch a little when I rip its guts out and cut its head off. I plan to discuss this issue with my therapist, but in the meantime, maybe I'll use tinned next time.

Also, I noticed that Batali's recipe called for caramelizing the fennel, then adding it to the sauce. That's a nice touch, except that next time I'll reserve a few sticks of fennel to add at the last moment, for texture's sake.

[Pontormo]

Pontormo, I admit that I've never watched La Terra Trema.  I'll also admit that I'm a little intimidated by it; two and a half hours of neorealist Sicilian fishermen...  Well, it's a classic, and no doubt for a reason.  I'll go rent it before the end of the month.

I expect grim, but figure I can stop the DVD to go wash the dishes. We should all know the source of our food and have some respect for the reasons so many Sicilians emigrated to North America and influenced how we eat.

Speaking of classics, I made pasta con sarde last night, and it was crazy delicious. 

The downside-- and if a career in heavy metal has taught me anything, it's that there's always a downside-- is that working with fresh sardines is a little gross.  I'm cool with cleaning fish, but sardines are tough to work with.  There's something about the size of a sardine (plump, yet fits neatly in your fist) and texture (firm yet quivering) that makes me flinch a little when I rip its guts out and cut its head off.  I plan to discuss this issue with my therapist, but in the meantime, maybe I'll use tinned next time.

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Not sure about either the taste in music or fantasy, but cf. this record of my experience in May. One reason I bought a can this time around. Nothing quite as satisfying as denial or hypocrisy.

[Franci]

Just in the last couple weeks, on the Italian food forum Gennarino, for which I am one of the moderators, we have been working in our lab to come out with a good recipe of 'mpanatigghi or 'mpanatigghie (there is some discussion if they are masculine or feminine).

Maybe many of you are familiar with this sweet, it's typical from ragusano: a very thin and delicate dough that encases a very unconventional filling being veal meat and chocolate

Mine was one of the first attempts and I never had the opportunity to try the real 'mpanatigghie before, so expecially my dough was off, I made more a shortdough although the end up result was not bad

Gic, one of our administrators come up with a recipe which he considers very close to the original

If you want to look at the picture here is a link for it

http://www.gennarino.org/forum/viewtopic.p...er=asc&start=15

Let me know if you are interested in the recipe and I will post it here in the recipes.

I whish I could post more stuff because in gennarino there are very knowledgeble Sicilians and there are very nice recipes around but I think would be contrary to the policy of egullet.

Edited July 21, 2006 by Franci (log)

[mrbigjas]

Just in the last couple weeks, on the Italian food forum Gennarino, for which I am one of the moderators, we have been working in our lab to come out with a good recipe of 'mpanatigghi or 'mpanatigghie (there is some discussion if they are masculine or feminine).

Maybe many of you are familiar with this sweet, it's typical from ragusano: a very thin and delicate dough that wrap a very unconventional filling being veal meat and chocolate

those look great, franci--i had read a recipe for them and i have been considering it just to do something different.

so are they generally eaten as a dessert? or another course in a meal? or as a snack?

[Franci]

so are they generally eaten as a dessert? or another course in a meal? or as a snack?

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Hi mrbigjas,

they can be served at the end of the meal with coffee but they could be eaten also as a snack. I served them to some ukranian friends, they could tell the cocoa powder in it, the cinnamon, the almonds, the chocolate but not the meat

Edited July 21, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Kevin72]

So, what quality do you think the meat lends to the dish?

[mrbigjas]

umami

[Franci]

So, what quality do you think the meat lends to the dish?

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For sure texture. Think of a raviolo made with brasato rather then chickpeas or potatoes or a vegetable. And the veal is still very delicate.