April 29, 2012
Sweet spring days…
of broccoflower and purple cauliflower..
What to do with these plump beauties? (Get them from your venditore ambulente, itinerant peddler, or check Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s).
Cut off the cute flowerets and steam until just tender. Beware of overcooking to mush. Ugh.
Sauté chopped garlic and red pepper flakes in hot olive oil. Add the flowerets and sauté briefly. Salt. Pepper. Mash in an anchovy or two if you like (it adds flavor and won’t taste fishy). Toss together with al dente pasta and a bit of the hot pasta water. Top with grated Pecorino, Parmesan, or Grana Padano.
Dish out. Gobble up. Lick your lips. Kiss your fingertips. Drain your wine glass. Nap.
 Broccoflower, broccolo romanesco, cavolo broccolo romanesco, Romanesco broccoli--or whatever you choose to call it--is sweet & nutty & wonderful.  Purple cauliflower lowers your risk for cancer and diabetes! Click to subscribe to BaroqueSicily.
March 16, 2012
Ricotta is the ultimate comfort food for Sicilians— pillow-soft and creamy, not at all like the rubbery goo at Albertsons. For this recipe, buy it from your local Italian grocer or an upscale market like Whole Foods or make it yourself (not that hard!).
Ingredients for Ricotta Mousse (serves 6):
*9 oz ricotta
*1/2 cup Sicilian Moscato (you can cheat with a California Moscato from Trader Joe’s)
*2 T sugar
*3 oz pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts (2 kinds of nuts will suffice), coarsely chopped
*5-6 T eucalyptus honey (or substitute any other nice honey)
*candied orange peel, slice thinly (optional)
*mint sprigs (optional)
Ready?
Whip the ricotta with the sugar and Moscato. Force the mixture through a sieve to get a velvety consistency. Sprinkle a bit of the nut mixture into 6 Martini or wine glasses. Top with the mousse and a final sprinkle of nuts. Garnish each glass with a dollop of honey, and if you are using them, candied orange and sprig of mint.
Buon appetito!
This recipe is adapted from Taste and Tradition, Vol 2 by Roberta Corradin and Paula Rancati. It comes from Chef Angelo Treno of Al Fogher restaurant. TOURIST ALERT! Al Fogher is the place to eat after visiting the Roman mosaics in Piazza Armerina.
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January 20, 2012
I went to a dinner party not long ago at the dark and windswept edge of what locals call the Sea of Africa. The Sicilian host served a salmon antipasto. Then out came a tasty tomato-and-white-wine pasta followed by chicken involtini and perfect roast potatoes. Elegantissimo.
For dessert he tore open a package of chocolate supermarket cookies and passed the box around the table. A cute and quirky grand finale. Something about it said “We are famiglia.”
Here’s an idea for a slightly more elegant dessert that I’ve also had here. It’s almost as simple. Buy a good cheese or two (Gorgonzola, Parmigiano, or goat cheese, for instance). Pair the cheese with a dollop of interesting honey (maybe something more upscale than the plastic bear?). You could add a fig or a date or a few pear slices if you’re feeling fancy. Serve with Sicilian moscato, port, or another round of wine.
Do you have a simple dessert recipe to share?
December 22, 2011
So you’re wringing your hands trying to figure out what in blazes to cook for Christmas Eve?
You can unwring them now: sciabbò is the answer.
These are Sicilian Christmas noodles: a wonderfully easy dish that drew raves (I kid you not) from my three luncheon guests today. The recipe comes from Pomp and Sustenance by Mary Taylor Simeti. Mary is the absolute authority on Sicilian cuisine and its history, and I’m thrilled she’s given me permission to share it with you.
Take a look at some of the ingredients:
 Yes! Cocoa and cinnamon and red wine go into sciabbo. The complete list of ingredients:
1 medium onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 pound pork meat, diced small (I used ground pork)
2 T tomato extract or 3 T tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups plain tomato sauce (I used a good store-bought sauce)
2 cups water
salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 T sugar
1 T unsweetened cocoa
1.5 pounds lasagna ricce (I used pappardelle)
Instructions:
Sauté the onion in the oil until soft. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until browned. Add the tomato extract and the wine, stirring to dissolve the extract completely.
Add the tomato sauce and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
Correct the salt (if the extract is salty, it may not be necessary to add more). Stir in the cinnamon, sugar, and cocoa.
Cook the pasta in abundant salted water until it is al dente, drain well, and toss with the sauce. You may wish to serve grated cheese on the side, although I think sciabbo is better without it.
Merry Christmas!
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Some Sicilian-Americans still cook seven fishes for Christmas Eve, but Mary Taylor Simeti emailed me that this tradition pretty much died out in Sicily itself after World War II. She has written other wonderful books too, including Sicilian Food: Recipes from an Abundant Isle and a memoir, On Persephone’s Island.
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November 7, 2011
Marisa Raniolo Wilkins of the blog All Things Sicilian and More has just published a huge, beautiful tome called Sicilian Seafood Cooking. Congratulations, Marisa. Complimenti!
 Photo credit Bob Evans Marisa has generously allowed me to share one of her recipes with you: Swordfish with Pasta and Mint. Note that there are several alternatives for the swordfish in this recipe (see below); I substituted scallops.
 Pasta with Swordfish and Mint, photo credit Graeme Gillies Ingredients
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
400g (14oz) fish, in 4cm (1½in) pieces
500g (17½oz) rigatoni or other short ribbed, tubular pasta
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup white wine
10–15 mint leaves
300g (10½oz) formaggio fresco, diced (or fresh pecorino, mozzarella or bocconcini)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Mint is not a common herb in the rest of Italy and generally most unexpected in a pasta dish anywhere but Sicily. When I first ate a version of this in Sicily in the 1980s, it was made with pesce spada (swordfish). Since then I have cooked it many times using sustainable fish (pesce sostenibile). It’s particularly good with dense-textured fish. I use albacore tuna, mackerel, rockling or flathead. Shellfish also enhances the sweetness.
Method
Heat the olive oil, add the fish and lightly seal it. Cook the pasta. Add the garlic, wine, 4–5 mint leaves and seasoning to the fish. Cover and cook gently until the fish is ready. Combine the pasta, fish, cheese and mint leaves (large leaves cut into smaller pieces) and serve.
Variation
*Add a few slices of zucchini lightly fried in extra virgin olive oil (cooked separately and added at the end). Add any juices from the zucchini.
*Add pistachio nuts to complement the sweet taste and the green of the mint and zucchini.
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Buon appetito!!
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