My Italian food
Sicilian caponata di melanzane is very famous, however it is not the only one. In fact, on a trip to Sicily and after reading the seminal “Profumi di Sicilia” by Giuseppe Coria, I learnt that “caponata” is only a generic term used to describe a dish made of assorted cooked vegetables finished off with a sour sweet condiment, either sugar or honey and vinegar. Continue reading “Caponata di zucca (Sicilian sour-sweet butternut squash caponata)”
Celery is one of the main ingredients in the classic summer aubergine caponata. Few days ago, I thought of making it the protagonist, foregoing the aubergines (not in season now, of course) and the result was excellent
Please read my post on caponata first. This is just a note to myself, not to forget this dish
First I made the sauce from my caponata recipe.
Meanwhile I stringed a large bunch of celery (whichI had placed in cold water for few hrs). I then cut it up in thickish slices.
When the sauce had simmered for about twenty minutes, I added the celery and let it cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
The caponata di sedano was rested for 24 hrs and eaten the following days. Delicious.
Update December 2024:
For a large bunch (Italian supermarket size, with leaves) I made x 2 caponata sauce and the result was very good, more like a chutney (pls read below); the sauce was well reduced before adding the celery;
Spices: I (erotically) used the spices for Neapolitan rococo biscuits, and the result was very good;
On (over) cooking the celery: I did overcooked the celery; the following day, when the caponata was good, I decided to chop it up coarse lay – this was smart and transformed the dish in a sort of chutney; I WONDER IF/NEXT TIME: maybe it is better to simply blanch the sliced celery in boiling water and refresh it, then add it to the simmering sauce for few minutes only …??
On cutting the celery: perhaps, slicing the celery not too thickly is actually better
Rice is not immediately associated with Sicilian cooking, apart from the wonderful arancini, those glorious deep fried rice balls stuffed with meat ragù, peas and cheese.. I was therefore rather surprised when I stumbled across this intriguing sounding rice and chestnut dish from Messina, in Sapori di Sicilia, by Giovanni Coria, It is nothing more than boiled rice dressed with a (dry or fresh) chestnut and olive oil “sauce”, with some pecorino and boiled, chopped finocchietto (wild fennel), the signature herb of Sicilian cooking. It is an unusual and tasty dish and if you like chestnuts you might find it appealing. Continue reading “Risu chi castagni o risu chi pastigghi – rice and chesntus from Messina, Sicily”
Sfincione is the pizza of Sicily: contrary to its Neapolitan counterpart, which is generally round, sold in individual portions, with a thick cornicione, a thin centre and not too much topping, sfincione is generally baked in large trays and sold cut up in hefty portions (even if there are also small, individual sfincioni, called sfincionelli, approximately 300 g each); it is quite thick all over, with a soft and pillowy dough (sometimes a little lard is added to the dough, which I greatly approve of) and it is laden with toppings. It is another thing altogether and something I urge you to explore – sfincione lends itself to domestic home baking much better than Neapolitan pizza. Continue reading “Sfincione di Bagheria (sfincione from Bagheria, a Sicilian pizza)”
“Pesto alla trapanese” is a vibrant, intensely garlicky Sicilian pasta sauce made with almonds, tomatoes, garlic and basil – it is lesser know that its Ligurian basil and pine-nuts cousin, but equally glorious. It comes from Trapani, on the west coast of the island ,and it is generally eaten with busiate, a spiral-shaped, chewy, durum-wheat, egg-less fresh pasta (here, if you want to learn how to make it). Pasta con il pesto alla trapanese is also known as pasta cù l’agghia, pasta with garlic (in dialect): if you are after a delicate sauce, this is not for you. Continue reading “Pasta cù l’agghia (al pesto trapanese) (Pasta with garlic, almond and tomato pesto from Trapani, Sicily)”
Italian home cooking 