The Cooking and Cuisine of Sicily

[Andrew Fenton]

i still have a couple bottles of nero d'avola to drink though. 

Sounds like tonight will be a busy night...

[FoodMan]

Sunday night's meal began with "cutlets" of fennel and eggplant, breaded and fried, then, hot out of the oil, doused with orange:

Interesting play off each other.  This was based on Mario's eggplant cutlets recipe, and I happened to have some fennel sitting around, so I used that as well.  I almost liked it more than the eggplant. 

Last year, after I had finished Sicily, a recipe was brought to my attention that I regretted not getting a chance to try, and vowed this time out that I would get to it.  It was a recipe posted by Paula Wolfert on Chef Zadi's blog: (click here).  Actually, it was a bastardized version: I don't have any of the couscous equipment, and so made the sauce brothier than normal and then put the couscous directly into it to cook. 

Very exotic, highly flavorful.  The almond/garlic paste swirled in at the end of cooking reminded me of the Ligurian dishes I really liked and added a whole new element.  The cinnamon was a very faint flavor that really made the dish more homey and comforting.  Too, I almost wonder if some roasted peppers in there would be a good addition.

To drink with the meal:

Not too shabby; not as good as last week's trio of reds for my dinner party, but it complemented the meal well and normally I do fall into the "no red wine with fish" camp. I think the spices helped mediate the two.

Dessert was a honey sponge cake from Schiavelli's Many Beautiful Things cookbook, topped with a fig compote, the figs again coming from our tree in the backyard (wheee!). 

I'm not setting a good example for next month, I fear: I had bought ingredients for a final Sicilian meal but won't get to it until tomorrow night.  Apologies to Puglia for stealing a day.

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Kevin, what an amazing spread! I love that risotto like couscous and your cake with figs. I am so jealous of your fig production this year. I have a three year old fig tree that started bearing fruits this year, but since it is relativly young, not many. Basically I only managed to snag a few fruits before the damn mockingbirds got to them!! (I wonder how Mockingbirds taste, boned and stuffed with fava beans in the style of Puglia ) How big is the tree in your backyard?

I also cannot believe Sicily month is over. I barely got to half of what I wanted to make, no involtini, no fish empanata, no cassata....I will have to revisit soon.

[Kevin72]

There's actually, coincidentally, a Sicilian recipe for birds that feed on figs . . .

My tree's not all that big, really. Last year it put out nothing, but then we didn't move in until August, so maybe production's about to slow down. I do have an ongoing feud with a tenacious squirrel right now; he holds his ground and gives me an earful when he sees me taking his figs! Now when I got out there, he's even taken a big bite out of all the ripest figs and then left the rest . . .

I was pretty proud of my tree and its output, then last week we were on a walk and I spotted in front of us a fig that was almost the size of a peach. I looked up and there was this monstrous tree in someone's back yard, sagging under the weight of its figs, all of them golfball sized or bigger . . .

[FoodMan]

There's actually, coincidentally, a Sicilian recipe for birds that feed on figs . . .

My tree's not all that big, really.  Last year it put out nothing, but then we didn't move in until August, so maybe production's about to slow down.  I do have an ongoing feud with a tenacious squirrel right now; he holds his ground and gives me an earful when he sees me taking his figs! Now when I got out there, he's even taken a big bite out of all the ripest figs and then left the rest . . . 

I was pretty proud of my tree and its output, then last week we were on a walk and I spotted in front of us a fig that was almost the size of a peach. I looked up and there was this monstrous tree in someone's back yard, sagging under the weight of its figs, all of them golfball sized or bigger . . .

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Yeah, squirrels are a pest too and they are tenacious. Unfortunatly, the idea of eating tree rats -even if it steals MY long awaited figs- is not too appealing. Now, fig fattened birds on the other hand....

[NYC Mike]

..the Sicilian sashays, shamelessly, up to the cool glass that separates him from his dolcezza again at about four in the afternoon for just un cucchiaio of something, so as not to interfere with the ritual of the five-thirty aperitivo.

It is with passages like the one I took the above peice from that make us really love and enjoy Marlena De Blasi's "A Taste of Southern Italy". She is so dramatic and romantic and fun. The plums are not peeled, they are slipped out of their skin. The flame is not high, it is lively!

So, we are glad we didn't pass up making one of her gelato to end the month.

We chose the Black Plum and Aniseed Gelato and it was fantastic. We questioned the lack of egg and the use of almond paste crumbs at the finish but based on past experience with the book and her 4th generation gelataio recipe we followed to the letter and were handsomely rewarded.

-Mike

[Ling]

Ling, is that the cauliflower in tiny bits around the gorgeous, plump olives in the foreground & on the green beans in the background?  Around here, it's too hot to grow again until fall.

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No, the purple things in the foreground are pitted gaeta olives. The purple bits in the background with the beans is the purple cauliflower.

[Kevin72]

..the Sicilian sashays, shamelessly, up to the cool glass that separates him from his dolcezza again at about four in the afternoon for just un cucchiaio of something, so as not to interfere with the ritual of the five-thirty aperitivo.

It is with passages like the one I took the above peice from that make us really love and enjoy Marlena De Blasi's "A Taste of Southern Italy". She is so dramatic and romantic and fun. The plums are not peeled, they are slipped out of their skin. The flame is not high, it is lively!

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Yeah, and anchovies are "relieved of their heads" . . . have you checked out the Puglia chapter yet? Great recipes there, but the prose get a bit thick, too, what with them "supping like fatted babes" at one point.

[Pontormo]

Even the flavor of the gelato is in keeping with the source of the recipe. Purple. Exotic. Looks wonderful. I've found a few recipes for ice cream that don't use an egg custard base. It's good to have confirmation that such recipes work.

[FoodMan]

A little of topic but I had to share

I was browsing through the cooking class listing at Houston's Central Market and I came upon this :

Terry Conlan, Executive Chef, Lake Austin Spa Resort

Terry, known as the master of low fat foods, has created this magical summer menu with a Sicilian accent: Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Green Grape Syrup & Almonds; White Bean Soup with Pistou; Bibb Lettuce Salad with Creamy Lemon/Basil Dressing; Chicken & Shrimp Piccata; Steamed Red Snapper with Lobster/Brown Butter Broth; and Lemoncello

The above class is actually called "A SICILIAN SUMMER SUPPER". Well, yes I am no expert, but I had to chuckle. As far as I could tell, except for the Limoncello (sort of) nothing is remotely Sicilian! Why not call it "AN ITALIAN SUMMER SUPPER"? Pistou!!!! sheesh...

edit: added link.

[FoodMan]

..the Sicilian sashays, shamelessly, up to the cool glass that separates him from his dolcezza again at about four in the afternoon for just un cucchiaio of something, so as not to interfere with the ritual of the five-thirty aperitivo.

It is with passages like the one I took the above peice from that make us really love and enjoy Marlena De Blasi's "A Taste of Southern Italy". She is so dramatic and romantic and fun. The plums are not peeled, they are slipped out of their skin. The flame is not high, it is lively!

So, we are glad we didn't pass up making one of her gelato to end the month.

We chose the Black Plum and Aniseed Gelato and it was fantastic. We questioned the lack of egg and the use of almond paste crumbs at the finish but based on past experience with the book and her 4th generation gelataio recipe we followed to the letter and were handsomely rewarded.

-Mike

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Can I pretty pretty please have the recipe or a summary of it via PM? It sounds like a fantastic use of the plums available right now. I made a very good custard based cherry chocolate (a take on Cherry Garcia) Gelato this past weekend. I used the recipe on Molto Italiano as a base...yeah the one with 14 egg yolks .

[Kevin72]

All right, last Sicily-esque meal. Only three days too late.

Started with linguine with a "salsa cruda" that has been discussed a couple times on this thread: my version is raw tomatoes, capers, red onion, celery, chili flakes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and coarse sea salt. I let them all marinate together all day while I was at work. The whole dish is finished with chopped basil and mint.

Since there's a similar recipe in Nancy Harmon Jenkins' Flavors of Puglia cookbook, I'll make the claim that this was a "crossover" dish.

Then had a grilled flank steak with amogghiu, a mint and garlic dipping sauce:

This was swiped from the cooking show Cucina Italia, hosted by Houston's own Damien Mandola and Johnny Carraba (yes, of Carraba's restaurants). There's a huge Italian restaurant empire in Houston owned by a large, intermingled family and Johnny and Damian are cousins, I think. Anyways, if you have access to this show ever, check it out: they're really funny and goofy, and alot of the recipes are actually pretty decent.

[DaleJ]

I believe Damian is Johnny's uncle. At any rate, my one meal per week in front of the TV is Saturday lunch. Cucina Toscana is on at 1 PM and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Somewhat instructive, but always hilarious.

[Kevin72]

I maintain that the episode where they had to hand crank their gelato is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

I hope they do more; those Toscana shows have been in reruns for two years now here.

[mrbigjas]

Since we've actually had a couple of bearable days here--only a break--I kept the a/c off to make a  more authentic Sicilian primo: pasta con i mazzareddi e ricotta from The Flavors of Sicily (Tasca Lanza).

My bitter greens were from the market rather than the wild, something called Italian dandelion greens in the US, a kind of chicory with vivid red spindly stalks that I can't find pictured in a quick google search, though I did discover that Bearded Dragons will eat them, courtesy of The Reptile Room.

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coming back late to this one, it sounds like the same stuff i got last week at the farmer's market, and used last night for this same dish:

of course, letting it sit in the fridge for five days doesn't really help, but let me affirm that this green is aggressively bitter--a bitterness that laughs at collards or chard or any other green that i know of. the kind of bitterness that, even after boiling, at first bite makes you blink hard, shake your head and go WHOO! even if you're a lover of bitter greens like i am.

good stuff. i have the leftovers for lunch today.

[Pontormo]

Glad you liked it too! Funny, when I bought these greens the first time, I prepared them as if they were spinach or beet greens, without boiling and found them both too tough and quite bitter. I was surprised by the taming effect of boiling. Do note that Franci mentions them in the Puglese thread, too.

It's kind of OT for Siciliy if not for greens, but I would be interested in learning about what you did with amaranth you mentioned somewhere--perhaps in the Reading Terminal thread. My goal is to try every green I come across and just cooked this for the first time using a method Paula Wolfert recommends (as reported by E. Schneider): boiled in stock instead of water, chopped and mixed, in my case with a mild feta made from goat & sheep's milk. The use of stock instead of water has a wonderful effect; reserved stock should be good for a quick soup, and back on topic, it might be a good idea to try cooking greens for some of these regional dishes in stock, then returning the resulting broth to the pan to finish cooking the pasta.

[mrbigjas]

whoa, i missed this one for a few days, pontormo, sorry. i don't remember getting amaranth recently--purslane, dandelion, collards, chard, kale, and curly endive were all recent purchases, but not amaranth.

maybe we should take it to the greens thread.

[hathor]

Isn't amaranth a grain? sort of like little-bitty couscous?

[mrbigjas]

yes in its grain form, but you can eat the leaves of the plant too. the red variety is very popular as a microgreen garnish or salad nowadays:

google image search

[Pontormo]

I believe the Health Food movement helped increase the popularity of using amaranth seeds as an alternative to rice, couscous, etc. especially since they are an important source of protein. When I was looking for information about the mature, iron-rich leaves I purchased as Jamaican spinach or callaloo, I found lots of web sites promoting them as the perfect crop to grow internationally given their historical significance as an extremely nutritious food. The ones you see as magenta micro-mix leaves are gorgeous fully grown and popular in Asian communities according to one of my sources. (See my posts in regional thread for the Caribbean.) I've never seen the plant in Italy.

Since this is so off-topic, I will add that I am returning to Sicily for dinner tonight.

[Andrew Fenton]

Indulging in this topic drift for a moment, I'll add that you can also pop amaranth seeds. It looks like little bitty baby popcorn: adorable!

[Pontormo]

I believe others here have used frozen swordfish before, no? I decided to buy some from Whole Foods and tried making a simple Sicilian pasta sauce that I prepared years before and really liked. The texture did not look ideal after it was thawed, so I was rather vigilant when frying it. Despite cooking it for an even briefer time than recommended, the surface was cardboard-like with only a bit of moisture inside.

Edited August 10, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Pontormo]

HOW MANY OF YOU WHO ASKED KEVIN & KLARY FOR THE RECIPE FOR THE SWORDFISH IMPANATE ACTUALLY MADE THEM?

Please, if you've just been thinking about it, I urge you to move from theory to praxis and from stasis to action. Fresh swordfish makes a big difference. The dough is delicious. I used the Dinner thread to spread the word, but in the meantime I will say, too, that this is one of the best new things I have tried this year. I have just come back from the farmers market with greens and cherry tomatoes to assist me in finally making Puglese dishes, but I intend to try the watermelon pudding Elie endorses as well.

[ludja]

"The serenades of the south

The sweet, warm exhausting Sicilian nights--

The whole time I'd been away

the memory of those nights...

had filled my days with longing and nostalgia.

Agramonte: 18,000 souls,

4,300 of them illiterate,

1,700 of them partially or fully unemployed.

Twenty-four churches...

This is the Cefalu palace

And this is the family coat of arms,

Practically the only thing

my father had not yet sold." 

         

--Ennino de Concini, opening monologue of Divorce, Italian Style (1961) as narrated by the dishy Marcello Mastroianni while his character waits for his roast beef and two potatoes on a train traveling back to his home.  Brilliant, wicked fun and full of social commentary and culinary references.  (One of the annoying characteristics of the wife is she goes on and on and on about the things they eat.) ...

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This *is* an excellent movie and also an interesting snapshot of Sicilian life at a particular time. I just recently saw this and also noted that one of the nagging characteristics of the wife was her obsession with food and feeding her hubsband! Interestingly, Marcello Mastroianni's character in La Dolce Vita also gets irritated at his girlfriend over her concern for his diet.

[Pontormo]

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.

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Just a quick note to say that I used the same recipe and have a more ambivalent response. I made it without rosewater which I am sure would have balanced out the sweeter ingredients. I broke dark chocolate chips (70%) myself so that they resembled watermelon seeds and added the juice of at least half a lemon.

I think I would really like the pudding without the cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate. I only used two light shakes of a small bottle of ground cinnamon for half the recipe and decided to add the lemon juice because the flavor of the spice was too dominant. The citrus juice did wonders and struck me as something that should always be included. I liked the pistachio's contrasting crunch as well as color, too. However, what surprised me was the problem I had with the chocolate. I love chocolate with fruit flavors, but in combination with something as delicate as watermelon, it seemed cloyingly sweet. Didn't help that it looked like milk chocolate after the dessert set. This recipe includes anise seeds for flavor which sounds good.

Yesterday, I made a granita with leftover watermelon and lime juice, no sugar. The combination would be wonderful in this kind of pudding, too. I am definitely developing a Not-Too Sweet Tooth.

As for visual matters, the individual puddings unmolded from small glass custard bowls are indeed very pretty.

[hathor]

I'm not ready to leave the islands!

We ate a Sicilian lunch on the roof today. As I was heading up the stairs with the food on a tray, I told my husband that we were having a sort of deconstructred cous cous. Without looking up, he said, "Don't worry, I'm sure it will still taste good." Sort of puts the whole 'hoity-toity' cuisine thing in perspective, don't you think?

So, deconstructed cous cous as follows:

Agrumi scented couscous

Fresh, hot, spicy tomato salsa (as in "Whoa!" hot)

Tiny little crispy fish fillets (don't worry, all the heads and bones went into the brodetto)

A bottle of Planeta's La Segreta (we discovered the 'secret' of La Segreta...when you open a bottle, you will finish a bottle)

Fresh figs for desert.

Deconstructed

Constructed

Figs from our neighbors trees