Sicilian Kitchen: Traditional recipes, history and curiosity
By MONDO GUIDE
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Sicilian Kitchen - MONDO GUIDE
AUTHOR
DID YOU KNOW THAT…?
Sicilian cuisine began to develop back in Ancient Greece time.
Over the centuries it then acquired its own distinctive traits distinguishable all over the world, but deriving also from influences that tell us about its history, dominations and cultural contaminations.
The regional cuisine of Sicily could be considered a great history book.
It is also regarded, with good reason, as the richest and most picturesque cuisine of Italy.
Just think of the famous cassata, or arancine, or granita, all world-renowned and relished dishes.
Sicily benefits from a mild climate and sunny weather, so oranges, lemons, almonds, pistachios, olives and prickly pears are grown.
A fleeting glimpse at the recipes will show how the same dish can be cooked with different names – and some variations – in different parts of Sicily.
Sometimes, other dishes that are typical of a certain area of Sicily are so unique and peculiar that they get an exclusive certification of its production area.
It is clear that Sicily, as an island, could be influenced very positively by other cultures and mainly by other cuisines, especially African, Greek and Arab ones.
It is no surprise that the first great chefs in history were born in Sicily.
Labdacus of Syracuse and Mithaecus of Sicily, for example – the latter of the two wrote no less than the very first cookbook in history.
We should also remember Archestratus of Gela, the first great food critic who wrote the famous poem called Gastronomia
.
Here is a list, far from exhaustive, of the most typical Sicilian products:
Cheese:
Sicilian caciocavallo
Sicilian goat’s milk cheese
Sicilian pecorino
Sicilian provola
Red pecorino, with traditional Italian regional food products certification
Ragusano, with protected designation of origin
Cosacavaddu ibleu, with the same characteristics as Ragusano
Provola of Nebrodi Mountains
Provola of Sicani Mountains
Provola of Madonie Mountains
Vastedda from Belice Valley, the only Italian stretched-curd cheese made from ewe’s milk
Olives:
Biancolilla of Palermo and Trapani
Cerasuola of Agrigento, Palermo and Trapani
Giarraffa of central west Sicily
Moresca of Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna, Ragusa and Siracusa
Nocellara of Mount Etna
Nocellara of Belice Valley
Ogliarola of Messina
Santagatese of Messina
Nasitana of Messina province, near the Tyrrhenian sea and Nebrodi Mountains
Round Iblea of south eastern Sicily
Verdese of Caltanissetta, Catania, Ragusa and Siracusa
Other typical products:
Red Garlic of Nubia
Giarratana Onion
Leonforte broad bean
Villalba lentil
Messina new potato
Siracusa new potato
Beef heart tomato
Pachino tomato, grown in south east Sicily (PGI)
Menfi thorny artichoke
Aci Kohlrabi
Siccagno tomato of Bilìci valley
Polizzi round bean
Scicli sweet bean
Ustica lentil
Without further delay, let us now discover the traditional Sicilian cuisine, its history and stories.
Tips for every recipe
Here are some useful directions, suitable for every recipe. Instead of repeating them in each recipe, we will list them here.
Ingredients and servings
Ingredients are meant for 4 servings, unless otherwise specified.
Anchovies in the soffritto
It is usually recommended to add anchovies to a soffritto, and let them melt on a low heat. Another technique is switching off the heat and then add anchovies.
By doing so, they will melt nicely without burning. They will even be creamier – give it a try.
Broth
It is always useful to have a small pan of hot broth aside, while you are cooking. If you need to thin a recipe, or to prevent it from burning, you already have the liquid ready.
Desalting capers
When a recipe calls for capers, we always mean salted capers.
Soak them in a glass of cold water for some minutes to remove the salt before use. Then rinse them thoroughly before adding them to your dish.
Frying
When frying, it is better to follow these two golden rules that will prevent your fried food from getting soggy.
Rule number one: fried food must rest on absorbing paper but only for the time necessary to dry, that is a few minutes. If it rests there for too long, the oil in the paper will be reabsorbed and the food will be soggy.
Rule number two: salt must be added only after you remove the food from the absorbing paper, and put it on the serving dish. The reason, again, is that salt on hot fried food will make it mushy.
Frying vegetables without their juices
Before you fry vegetables such as aubergines or zucchini you should slice/dice them, place them in a colander and sprinkle with salt.
Then put on a weight to press them, like a pan full of water. In this way, the salt will extract the excess of bitter water in the vegetables, and they will be sweeter and crunchier.
Putting a baking tray in the oven
When you have to put a baking pan in the oven, be it for meats or vegetables, we mean a tray greased with olive oil. If it is for cakes, we mean that before putting food (usually cookies) on it you have to line it with baking paper.
Peeling potatoes
When the recipe calls for potatoes cooked and peeled, you are supposed to peel the potatoes right away after you boil them, that is when they are still hot. You can wrap them in a clean tea towel and rub them gently. The reason is that when the potato is still very hot, peeling is much easier. Hence the hot potato
game!
Hot chili
According to Ayurveda medicine hot chili is to be considered a real medication, so if you do not like it or it is too much, just omit it. The recipe will not be affected and you will find it more enjoyable. Should your guests like it, you can also put some red chili powder or red chili olive oil on the table.
Parsley in the soffritto
When a recipe needs parsley to be added to chopped garlic and onion (or to the classic garlic, oil and red chili combo), it’s not meant to fry with the soffritto because parsley would burn and become bitter. Parsley must always be fresh, added to soffritto only when the soffritto is ready, or after you switch the heat off.
Peeling cherry tomatoes
For many recipes, you will have to use peeled cherry tomatoes (Pachino of Piccadilly variety). The best way to peel them is to make a crisscross cut with a knife on the bottom and plunge them in boiling water for a few seconds. Then put them in cold water and the skin will come off, almost by itself.
Oven temperature
When you need to put food in the oven at a required temperature, the oven is always supposed to be pre-heated.
Oil temperature for frying
Fried food recipes need the oil to be properly hot before frying.
Mincing garlic and onion for soffritto
When preparing your soffritto, instead of adding sliced onions and whole cloves of garlic, just mince/chop them. Your soffritto will be tastier because the garlic and the onion will quickly release their juices.
Soaking raisins
To soak raisins, put them in a glass of hot water for a few minutes before using. Raisins will absorb some of the water and be soft again.
Wines and liqueurs to match your dishes
In this book we often suggest a wine or a liqueur to pair with a recipe. The ones we suggest may be difficult to find either because they were recommended by sommeliers, or because they were chosen as the perfect pairing to enhance the flavours of the dish. Basically, you can serve red wine with meats and white wine with fish, but with desserts just serve fortified wines or sweet wines.
Flour
When you see white flour
in the ingredients it’s the Italian 00 flour (type W405), which in the US is known as pastry flour and, in the UK, as soft flour. When you see plain flour
, it’s the Italian 0 flour (type W550), soft flour in the UK, pastry flour in the US.
Parmesan
By this name we mean only the PDO cheese called Parmigiano Reggiano and not what is made and sold outside of Italy under the name of parmesan
.
APPETIZERS
Citrus Anchovies
Did you know that…?
Anchovies in Italian are also called alici, which derives from the Latin word hallex, a sauce prepared with this kind of fish. They are oily fish, varying in length from 12 to 15 centimetres. In Sicilian dialect they are called masculine, which means cunning
.
Ingredients
600 gr of small anchovies, gutted
3+1 oranges
3+1 lemon
A bunch of parsley
Red chili
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Directions
Wash the anchovies, pat them dry and put them in a bowl. Pour the juice of 3 lemons on the anchovies and let them marinate for one hour. After that, drain them and arrange them like sun rays on a serving dish. Now prepare the sauce.
In another bowl combine the juice of 3 oranges, oil, salt, pepper and red chili, then pour it gently on the fish. Slice the remaining orange and lemon and put them on the serving dish. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Keep them aside before serving, to absorb the flavour of the sauce.
One more thing before you turn the page
Please consider serving this dish more often at your table. Anchovies contain proteins and Omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, phosphorus and selenium, and also B-group vitamins.
Sicilian Arancine
Did you know that…?
Legend has it, that the Arab emir Ibn At Timmah invented the rice pie. The emir would carry one in his bag, when hunting. Later on, this pie was enriched with meat and given the shape with which we know it today, because it was easier to carry.
Ingredients for 30 arancine
Rice – 200 gr (not parboiled)
Ragù (tomato and meat sauce) – 100 gr
White flour
Water
Breadcrumbs
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil for frying
Directions
Rice and ragù
First boil the rice in salted water and prepare the ragù, then let them cool. Then mix them until you get a stiff risotto. Make walnut-sized balls.
Batter
Now prepare the batter. In a bowl put 2 tablespoons of flour and gently pour a little water. Keep on mixing till you get a smooth, semiliquid batter, somewhat elastic and not runny. Now dip the rice balls in the batter and coat them well, then roll them in breadcrumbs.
Frying
Now you are ready to fry your arancine. Heat plenty of oil in a deep pan, and then add your arancine one by one without crowding the pan or the oil will cool down. Check the browning of your arancine, turning them from time to time. When they are ready put them on absorbing paper, and we recommend not leaving them there too long, or they will get soggy.
One last thing before you turn the page...
The Sicilian arancine are officially part of the list of traditional Italian regional food products (PAT) published by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, with the official name of arancini di riso
.
Babbaluci (snails) with garlic and parsley
Did you know that…?
The Sicilian name for the small land snails babbaluci is supposed to derive either from Arab word babush, the typical women’s shoe with the curled toes, hence the Sicilian babusce (cloth slippers), or from old Greek boubalàkion, (buffalo), because of their resemblance to the animal’s horns.
Ingredients
Snails 1 kg
Garlic – 4 cloves
Extra virgin olive oil as per taste
Parsley
Salt and pepper as per taste
Directions
First wash the snails under running water, until the water is perfectly clear. Put the snails in a pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil on a low heat. When it boils, add salt and turn off the heat but only after the snails will have come out of the shell. Rinse the snails again under running water to clean them properly.
Now prepare a soffritto with garlic and oil, when it turns golden add the snails to absorb the flavour, stirring gently for a few minutes.
Switch then the heat off, add plenty of parsley and a little black pepper.
Serve your babbaluci when they are almost cold.
One last thing before you turn the page...