SBS Italian Radio Recipes: Italian Food Interviews and Podcasts with Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
SBS Italian Radio has invited me on many occasions to share some of my favourite Italian recipes, regional food traditions and culinary stories with broadcaster Massimiliano Gugole who it the Audio and Language Content Producer at Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia,
This page brings together those interviews so they are easy to find in one place.
If you speak Italian, you can listen to these conversations on the SBS Audio App or if you click on the links provided below. Each episode generally runs for 10–14 minutes and explores not only recipes but also some of the history, traditions and regional food culture behind them.
One exception is Zuzzu: An Ancient Sicilian Pork Terrine That Uses Everything but the Oink, runs for approximately 30 minutes. This podcast forms part of The Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine, a popular series on SBS with a number of interesting and noteworthy participants. Some of the presenters are not Italian speakers and the podcasts are in English.
These are the podcasts. Use the link to listen on SBS Italian Radio
Zuzzu: An Ancient Sicilian Pork Terrine That Uses Everything but the Oink
(already published in English).
This podcast was the most popular in the series.
13 February 2024
This episode forms part of the SBS Italian Radio series The Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine, celebrating traditional regional dishes that are less well known outside Italy.
SBS, the Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine, a series of podcasts
Jota/ Iota a hearty thick soup from Trieste made with smoked pork, borlotti beans and sauerkraut
Read the Recipes in English
Many of these recipes have also been published in English here on All Things Sicilian and More, often with additional historical background, photographs and cooking notes.
Simply use the blog’s search function and search for SBS Italian Radio or search by recipe name or ingredient, for example:
Puntarelle
Stuffed Artichokes
Sicilian Cassata
The Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine (Zuzzu)
Jota
You’ll find several detailed recipes about the same ingredient, together with the stories, traditions and regional food culture that inspired each dish.
It is worth seeing the full range of photos of the process of making Zuzzu –Sicilian Pork Terrine:
I ate Puntarelle cooked with tomatoes, garlic and anchovies as a side dish several years ago in Venice. This is the photo below:
Cooked puntarelle as presented in a restaurant in Venice
A Venetian inspiration for a simple pasta sauce or contorno
Venice Cannaregio, a view from our accomodation
Puntarelle are one of my favourite Italian vegetables, and because I now can find them in a stall at Queen Victoria Market I buy them. Although they are best known in the classic Roman salad of finely sliced shoots dressed with anchovy, garlic and olive oil, puntarelle can also be cooked to make an excellent contorno or a delicious pasta sauce.
One of a number of puntarelle salads I have made recently
A memory from Cannaregio, Venice
This dish is inspired by a meal I enjoyed in Cannaregio, one of Venice’s most authentic neighbourhoods, during my visit to the Venice Biennale in 2019. Away from the busiest tourist routes, Cannaregio still retains the atmosphere of a lived-in Venetian district, with local markets, small trattorie and canals that invite leisurely wandering.
Guglie/ Cannaregio Venezia, Venice
One of the dishes I ordered at a restaurant was a simple plate of cooked puntarelle that was tossed with tomatoes and I remembered tasting, garlic and anchovies. It was uncomplicated cooking, but memorable because puntarelle were impossible to find in Melbourne or in Adwhere I have found many vegetables that I have had difficulties finding in Melbourne.
Another person ordered the salad. This had red radicchio in it as well as tomatoes and the usual anchovy and garlic dressing.
The puntarelle salad in Venice
The results were a simple recipe with remarkable flavour. Italian cooking often demonstrates that excellent dishes require very few ingredients. In this recipe, the slight bitterness of puntarelle, the sweetness of tomatoes and the savoury richness of anchovies create a balance that is both elegant and deeply satisfying. It is a reminder that some of the most memorable meals are also the simplest.
Puntarelle in Melbourne
Recently I have been making the most of the puntarelle available from Sophia’s stall at the Queen Victoria Market. Most often I prepare the traditional salad with an anchovy and garlic dressing and have made a few of these now.
The bunches sold in Melbourne, however, usually contain fewer leaves than those I have purchased in Italy. To prepare them as a cooked vegetable, I often combine the leaves with other bitter greens such as chicory, endive or cime di rapa, which have similar flavours and cooking qualities.
One of the bunches of puntarelle I have bought in MelbourneThis bunch of puntarelle bought in Melbourne has slightly more leaves
When I was staying in an Airbnb in Venice, I also bought a bunch of puntarelle and cooked both the spears and leaves together simply in extra virgin olive oil and garlic. The Venetian bunch was much leafier than those I generally find in Melbourne, making it particularly suitable for cooking.
This is the bunch of puntarelle I bought in Venice…. very leafy.
And recently I cooked puntarelle in much the same way that I cook cime di rapa for pasta or cicoria ripassata.
A simple contorno or pasta sauce
The version I remembered from Venice included tomatoes, so I decided to recreate it at home. Because good fresh baby tomatoes taste bland during winter, I used quality tinned baby tomatoes drained of their juice instead. Their sweetness balances the gentle bitterness of the puntarelle beautifully.
Drained tinned baby tomatoes
As with all of the green leafy vegetables as I braise with garlic and anchovies and sometimes chilli, the anchovies melt into the olive oil, creating depth while the garlic provides the familiar flavour combination found throughout Italian regional cooking.
Braised/sauteed puntarelle are equally enjoyable served as a vegetable side dish or tossed through pasta. I prefer short pasta. Because the bunches I buy at the Queen Victoria Market don’t contain many leaves and chicory, endive or cime di rapa are in season, I add more green leaves as well.
In this version I added cooked cime di rapa
RECIPE: PUNTARELLE Cooked with Tomatoes, Garlic and Anchovies
Ingredients
1 bunch puntarelle, including shoots and leaves
Extra leaves of chicory, endive or cime di rapa if needed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets (or more) in oil cut into smaller pieces
250-300 g baby tomatoes (fresh when in season or good-quality tinned baby tomatoes)
ground black pepper or pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
salt if you need it.
For serving: 3-4 people
350g pasta
Grated pecorino or toasted breadcrumbs toasted in extra virgin olive oil if desired. (Pecorino is stronger tasting than parmesan cheese and probably better suited)
Method
Prepare the puntarelle
Wash the puntarelle thoroughly. Separate the shoots and leaves and cut into bite-sized pieces. If the quantity of leaves is limited, add some chopped chicory, endive or cime di rapa. (*On this occasion I added some already cooked cime di rapa that I had in my fridge.)
Traditionally, if serving the greens with the pasta, they are blanched in salted boiling water for five minutes or more (depending on quantity and texture). If using the mixture as a pasta sauce, reserve some of the cooking water. However, I prefer a modern method: sauté the greens directly without parboiling (once again depending on quantity and texture).
Make the sauce
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the anchovies and stir until they dissolve into the oil. Add the garlic until fragrant but not coloured.
Stir in the green leaves, toss around in the pan and when they wilt, add about a tablespoon of water, put on the lid and soften further. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan, add the puntarelle spears and cook for a few minutes until softened but still vibrant. (**I added the cooked left over cime di rapa after I cooked the puntarelle and tomatoes).
Add the tomatoes and cook for several minutes until they soften and release their juices. Season with black pepper and chilli flakes if using.
I added the cooked left over cime di rapa after I cooked the puntarelle and tomatoes
Serve as a contorno – grilled fish or meat, roasted meats (nothing juicy).
To serve with pasta
Cook the pasta until al dente.
Transfer it directly to the pan with the puntarelle mixture, adding a little reserved pasta cooking water if necessary to create a silky sauce. Toss well and serve plain or with grated pecorino or toasted breadcrumbs, according to your preference.
Puntarelle alla Romana and Cicoria Ripassata are two classic Roman dishes that celebrate Italy’s fondness for bitter greens. Both are types of chicory.
Puntarelle
Puntarelle are a distinctive type of Italian chicory (cicoria catalogna), especially associated with Rome and the Lazio region, where they appear in markets during the cooler months.
Punterrelle, a type of chicory
I have always loved Italy’s bitter greens — cicoria, radicchio, indivia, cime did rape, dandelion — flavours that many people initially find challenging, but which Italians value for their slight bitterness. Puntarelle belong firmly within this tradition.
The plant has long serrated leaves, but the prized part is the pale green central shoots that are tender, crunchy and slightly bitter.
The shoots of the Puntarelle
Their texture and flavour make them especially refreshing when eaten raw.
Puntarelle – vegetable with some of the outer leaves removed
Puntarelle, even more so than chicory, are not a common vegetable. I have only purchased Puntarelle twice in Australia, once from Carmel and Gus’s stall at the Queen Victoria Market and now I was delighted to find it at Daniel’s stall in the B Shed Shop 23-26. The stall is called Sophia’s.
The classic Roman preparation is Puntarelle alla Romana. The shoots are sliced finely into thin strips and soaked in iced water until they curl and become wonderfully crisp – a bit like curling celery.
Curled puntarelle after being soaked in iced water
They are then dressed simply with olive oil, garlic, anchovy and vinegar or lemon juice. The flavour is sharp, savoury and refreshing at the same time. Sometimes hard boiled eggs are added to the dressed salad and this makes this dish extra suitable as a starter.
The ingredients for the dressing
Like many Italian vegetables, very little is wasted. The outer leaves are often boiled or sautéed with olive oil, garlic and chilli in the style of cicoria ripassata, much like other bitter greens prepared throughout Italy. I have added this recipe because I have mentioned that the course outer leaves are cooked and not wasted.
A mixture of leafy greens can be added with the outer leaves of the Punterelle as there are likely insufficient greens to cook in this manner.
I particularly appreciate puntarelle because they reflect something essential about Italian cooking: the ability to transform a simple seasonal vegetable into something elegant through restraint and balance rather than complexity.
For those who enjoy vegetables such as dandelion greens, chicory or radicchio, puntarelle offer a similar bitterness but with a particularly crisp texture and elegant appearance. They pair beautifully with anchovies, citrus, capers, olives and robust olive oil — flavours that appear frequently in Roman and southern Italian cooking.
ROME’S BITTER GREENS
Puntarelle alla Romana
This is one of Rome’s most characteristic salads — crisp, bitter and refreshing, with the salty sharpness of anchovy balancing the chicory beautifully.
Ingredients
1 bunch puntarelle (mine was one plant)
4 -8 anchovy fillets
1-2 garlic clove
2–3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparing the Puntarelle
Separate the pale inner shoots from the outer leaves. Save the small leaves to add to the salad.
Slice the shoots finely into thin strips. Traditionally they are cut very thinly so they curl easily.
Place the strips into a bowl of iced water for about 30 minutes. This helps them curl and become crisp.
Preparing the Dressing
Traditionally, anchovies and garlic are crushed together to form a paste. Add olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice and mix well.
Alternatively, the garlic can be crushed and placed in a jar with the oil and lemon juice. The anchovies are then cut into small pieces and mixed together just before dressing the salad. I prefer to do this as it allows for a more visual presentation.
The dressing: Chopped anchovies and a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, squeezed garlic, and lemon juice
Assembling the Salad
Drain the puntarelle thoroughly and dress just before serving.
Taste and adjust seasoning carefully — the anchovies are already salty.
Punterelle alla Romana – salad
The salad is excellent with grilled fish, roasted meats or simply with bread especially when there are boiled eggs in the salad.
We had it as an accompaniment to a seafood Paella.
Cicoria Ripassata
This is one of the simplest and most satisfying ways Italians cook bitter greens. The word ripassata refers to the greens being “passed again” through the pan after boiling.
Cicoria – Chicory
Ingredients
1 large bunch cicoria or other bitter greens including the outer leaves of the Puntarelle
2–3 garlic cloves, sliced
Chilli flakes or fresh chilli to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Cooking the Greens
Wash the greens thoroughly and trim any tough stems.
Boil in salted water until tender — usually about 10–15 minutes depending on the maturity of the greens.
Drain well and gently squeeze out excess water. Chop roughly if the leaves are large.
Heat generous olive oil in a frying pan.
Add the garlic and chilli and cook briefly until fragrant, but do not allow the garlic to burn.
Add the greens and sauté for several minutes so they absorb the flavours of the oil.
Taste for salt and serve warm or at room temperature.
In Rome this dish is often served alongside grilled sausages or roasted meats, especially pork – the bitterness counteracts the fatty nature of the meat.
When I was asked to share an Easter recipe for SBS Italian Radio, I immediately chose cassata Siciliana — a dessert that truly represents Sicily, its history, flavours, and identity.
For the occasion, I prepared the recipe along with some notes in Italian to accompany the radio discussion, aiming to convey not just the steps, but also the cultural meaning behind this traditional dessert.
In this post, I have also included some photos of the cassata being made. These are not on the SBS website, but they help to show the process more clearly.
The remainder of the post is in Italian and I was interviewed by Massimiliano Gugole from SBS Radio Italian.
IN ITALIAN
Quando mi è stato chiesto di condividere una ricetta di Pasqua per SBS Italian Radio, ho scelto subito la cassata siciliana — un dolce che rappresenta bene la Sicilia sapori — la sua storia, i suoi sapori e la sua identità.
Per l’occasione ho preparato la ricetta e alcune note in italiano per accompagnare la conversazione in radio, cercando di trasmettere non solo i passaggi, ma anche il significato culturale di questo dolce tradizionale
In questo post ho aggiunto anche alcune foto della preparazione della cassata. Non sono presenti sul sito di SBS, ma aiutano a vedere meglio i passaggi.
****If you would like to listen to the interview and discussion in Italian on SBS Radio, here is the link:
La cassata siciliana, nella ricetta di Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
La cassata siciliana è uno dei dolci più rappresentativi della Sicilia, soprattutto nel periodo di Pasqua. È un dolce ricco, scenografico, che racchiude storia, cultura e tradizione.
La cassata è un’opera culinaria che testimonia secoli di storia.Dalle influenze fenicie, che introdussero le mandorle, all’apporto arabo, che portò zucchero, frutta secca, marzapane e agrumi, e al contributo spagnolo, che portò il pan di Spagna. I monsù, cuochi francesi al servizio delle famiglie aristocratiche siciliane, ne perfezionarono la presentazione, mentre le suore nei conventi custodirono e tramandarono le ricette tradizionali.
Alla base troviamo il pan di Spagna, soffice e leggermente inumidito con un liquore.
Il cuore della cassata è la ricotta, preferibilmente di pecora, lavorata con zucchero fino a diventare una crema liscia e delicata.’è un gesto semplice, ma molto significativo, che appartiene alla tradizione della cassata: la ricotta non si mescola soltanto — si passa al setaccio.
Alla ricotta si aggiungono piccoli pezzi di cioccolato fondente, pistacchi e scorze di agrumi canditi.
Il dolce viene poi assemblato in uno stampo: il pan di Spagna riveste base e lati, si riempie con la crema di ricotta, si chiude e si lascia riposare in frigorifero per una notte.
Il giorno dopo si sforma e si ricopre con la pasta reale/il marzapane, spesso di colore verde chiaro, e si decora con frutta candita.
La cassata, in tutte le sue varianti, `e un emblema di celebrazione. Le pasticcerie siciliane sono rinomate per la loro maestria nella preparazione e decorazione delle cassate.
Cassata Siciliana — Ricetta Tradizionale
Consigli:
La cassata si prepara al meglio in due giorni. Si assembla il dolce il giorno prima e si lascia riposare in frigorifero per tutta la notte affinché si compatti. Anche il pan di Spagna beneficia di essere preparato in anticipo.
Note sugli Ingredienti
Ricotta
Usare ricotta soda e ben scolata, preferibilmente di pecora, naturalmente più dolce e saporita.
Spesso viene venduta in forme intere e tagliata al momento — questa è la migliore.
Evitare la ricotta confezionata in vaschetta, generalmente troppo acquosa e poco saporita. Se non avete alternative, è consigliabile scolarla per tutta la notte.
Per un ripieno più ricco, si può aggiungere un po’ di panna densa durante la lavorazione.
Frutta Candita
La frutta candita è conservata in uno sciroppo zuccherino che ne mantiene la morbidezza e ne intensifica il sapore. (Si chiama anche glacé)
Se possibile, utilizzare scorze di agrumi canditi di buona qualità oppure fette intere di arancia candita, invece della comune frutta candita mista.
Il cedro ha un ruolo importante nella pasticceria siciliana. Coltivato in Sicilia e in Calabria, si riconosce per la buccia spessa, dal verde al giallo.
Il pan di SpagnaIl ripieno – ricotta, zucchero, cioccolato , pistacchi, scorze d’agrumi canditeIl pan di Spagna tagliato in quattro strati. Il marzapane steso tra due pellicoleIl marzapane, di due colori – naturale e verde. La confettura per attaccare il pan di Spagna
PREPARAZIONE DELLO STAMPO
Lo stampo foderato, il pan di Spagna -uno stato di sotto, e due strati per rivestire i lati. L’ultimo strato di sopra per coprire il ripieno.L’ultimo strato di pan di Spagna per coprire il ripienoCon un peso di sopraLa cassata sformata è ricoperta da una glassa di marzapane. La confettura viene utilizzata per facilitare l’adesione del marzapane al pan di SpagnaQuadretti del marzapane verde per l’applicazione sui latiQuasi!Eccola!
**Sul blog All Things Sicilian And More ci sono parecchi post della Cassata con altre foto, ma scritte in Inglese.
Come la maggior parte delle ricette italiane, le quantità degli ingredienti non contano davvero. I cuochi si affidano al gusto, all’occhio e al tatto.
Ripieno di Ricotta
700 g – 800g ricotta fresca (preferibilmente di pecora)
120 g zucchero semolato
60–100 g cioccolato fondente, tritato
100 g pistacchi, tritati
60–100 g scorze di agrumi canditi (arancia, limone, cedro)
¼ cucchiaino vaniglia (o pasta di vaniglia)
¼ cucchiaino cannella
Per Assemblare
Circa 450 g pan di Spagna, fatto in casa (questo il peso quando acquistato nei negozi commerciali
Pasta reale (marzapane) per copertura
Frutta candita per decorare
½ tazza (o più) di confettura di albicocche
½–¾ tazza di liquore (o più, a piacere)
Pan di Spagna
Preparare 1–3 giorni prima.
Ingredienti
5 uova
120 g zucchero
100 g farina setacciata
Scorza di limone e/o vaniglia
Burro per lo stampo
Procedimento
Montare i tuorli con lo zucchero fino a ottenere un composto chiaro e cremoso.
Montare gli albumi a neve ferma.
Incorporare delicatamente gli albumi al composto di tuorli.
Unire la farina setacciata e gli aromi.
Versare in uno stampo imburrato e cuocere a forno moderato per circa 40 minuti, fino a doratura.
Lasciare raffreddare completamente prima di tagliare.
Ripieno di Ricotta
Lavorare la ricotta con lo zucchero fino a ottenere una crema liscia. (In alternativa, sciogliere lo zucchero in poca acqua per ottenere uno sciroppo, lasciarlo raffreddare e poi unirlo alla ricotta
Aggiungere:
vaniglia
cannella
un goccio di liquore (facoltativo)
Incorporare:
cioccolato
pistacchi
frutta candita
Mescolare delicatamente.
Pasta Reale (Marzapane)
Ingredienti
500 g mandorle pelate e macinate finemente
300 g zucchero a velo
1 albume
Vaniglia q.b.
Un pizzico di sale
Qualche goccia di colorante verde
Procedimento
Montare leggermente l’albume con il sale fino a renderlo spumoso.
Aggiungere la vaniglia.
Incorporare gradualmente mandorle e zucchero, impastando fino a ottenere un composto liscio ed elastico.
Regolare la consistenza:
aggiungere mandorle o zucchero se troppo morbido
aggiungere poca acqua se troppo duro
Avvolgere nella pellicola e conservare in frigorifero.
Quando sarete pronti per coprire la cassata:
Facoltativo:
Dividere in due parti e colorarne una di verde, oppure è decorato a larghe strisce verdi e del colore naturale del marzapane.
Stendere il marzapane tra due fogli di carta da forno.
Preparazione dello Stampo
Foderare uno stampo rotondo (da 25–30 cm) con pellicola o alluminio.
Tagliare il pan di Spagna in 4 strati.
Rivestire anche i lati dello stampo con le fette di pan di Spagna, utilizzando confettura se necessario per fissarle.
Assemblaggio della Cassata
Disporre uno strato sul fondo e spennellare leggermente con confettura di albicocche.
Inumidire con un po’ di liquore.
Riempire lo stampo con il composto di ricotta e livellare.
Coprire con l’ultimo strato di pan di Spagna.
Inumidire leggermente con liquore.
Coprire e porre un leggero peso sopra.
Mettere in frigorifero per tutta la notte.
Copertura e Decorazione
(Da fare il giorno del servizio)
Sformare la cassata.
Spalmare uno strato sottile di confettura di albicocche.
Coprire con la pasta reale stesa.
Decorare con frutta candita.
Mantenere in frigorifero fino al momento dell’uso.
The logic of the caper plant — buds, flower, fruit — reveals itself slowly, and finally there are predominately salted capers that are so much part of Italian cooking.
Watching a caper bush through its full cycle allows a deeper understanding: tight unopened buds, extravagant white flowers with violet stamens, pollinated berries that swell on long curved stalks.
Caper Bushes and the Life Cycle of Capers
Caper bushes are Capparis spinosa.
I have seen many caper bushes growing in Sicily where little else survives — in crevices, along dry-stone walls, through black volcanic soil and sun-baked earth. I lived in Trieste as a child and caper bushes grew on the walls surrounding the Church of San Giusto!
Now I am able to observe one bush thriving in a garden in Adelaide, equally at ease in heat, stone and poor soil. It receives little water, yet produces an abundance of flowers. Its restraint in growth contrasts with the dramatic display of its blooms.
Tight unopened buds, top bud ready to bloom.
A tight green bud unfurls into delicate white petals and a burst of long violet stamens. The flower lasts barely a day. In Adelaide’s heat, by mid-morning the flower softens and collapses. What follows depends entirely on pollination. And after some rain I even spotted some bees circling around the flowers.
In the photographs, the stages of the buds to capers, and caperberries are clear.
Some flowers have fallen, leaving only a slender stem.
Stamen with caper berry forming.
Others show the ovary beginning to swell — the promise of a caper berry.
A few have formed smooth, olive-shaped fruit poised on curved stalks. And these are the caper berries.
Caper berries.
Pollination is decisive. Without it, the flower falls and no berry forms. When we harvest capers — the unopened buds — we deliberately interrupt the plant’s reproductive cycle.
Buds are the capers, in various sizes.
Culinary Uses
Capers are used in a wide variety of culinary applications and are a key ingredient in many Italian dishes. Some common examples include:
Sicilian pasta con le sarde
Vitello tonnato
Caper sauces with anchovy and lemon, very suitable for fish dishes
Tomato, potato and a wide range of uncooked and cooked vegetable salads
Salsa verde
Pasta Puttanesca
Caper berries, larger and milder, suit antipasto platters, smoked fish garnishes and even cocktails in place of olives. Recently I used one instead of a green olive in a Martini!
Salting Capers: Preservation
Capers require preservation. Fresh caper buds are intensely bitter and must be cured.
Caper bushes can be found all over Sicily. The traditional Sicilian method — is dry salting rather than pickling.
The salt draws out moisture through osmosis, it reduces bitterness by leaching harsh compounds and preserves by inhibiting microbial growth.
Unlike vinegar pickling, salting concentrates and refines flavour rather than masking it.
Salt-Packed
Vinegar-Preserved
More complex flavour
Sharper, more acidic
Cleaner aroma
Vinegar can dominate
Traditional in Sicily
Common commercially
Requires rinsing
Ready to use
Before using salt-packed capers, rinse well and soak briefly (10–15 minutes or longer if needed and larger capers may require more soaking ), then gently squeeze dry.
Salted Sicilian capers – 2 sizes. the small ones are more expensive.
Three Sicilian Islands where capers Thrive and are processed for export
Across Sicily’s southern islands, Capparis spinosa demonstrates remarkable adaptability.
I found many containers of salted capers in the market in Syracuse.
Pantelleria — with its volcanic soil and fierce sun — produces intensely aromatic buds protected as Cappero di Pantelleria IGP. Dry-salting and size grading are meticulous. The smallest buds are prized for concentration and finesse. This small island lies in the Strait of Sicily, about 100 km southwest of Sicily and roughly 60 km east of Tunisia.
Lampedusa, shaped by limestone and water scarcity, preserves capers pragmatically in dry salt — no brine, no excess moisture. Here, capers reflect adaptation and subsistence Italy’s southernmost island, Lampedusa lies between Malta and Tunisia.
Salina and the Aeolian Islands balance cultivation with daily use. Dry-salting remains a common method, though brining is becoming commercially significant. Capers flavour fish, vegetables and salads — integrated into routine cooking. They also are added to sauces and I also add them to pan fried meat dishes. Salina is one of the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily, Southern Italy and is the second largest island in the archipelago.
Dry salt curing required no fresh water, used abundant sea salt, preserved buds without refrigeration and intensified flavour rather than masking it.
Capers Preserved in Vinegar
Vinegar-preserved capers are widely available, especially outside Sicily and used very much in northern Italy. After salting, they are packed in wine or distilled vinegar.
Advantages:
Convenient and ready to use
Long shelf life
Bright acidity
Consistent flavour
The trade-off is that vinegar can dominate and obscure the caper’s more delicate floral and herbal notes. Salted capers are preferred when subtlety matters; vinegar-preserved capers suit dishes that benefit from extra sharpness.
Capers in Brine are very easy to use. These are ingredients for a quick sauce.
When Capers Dominate: Caponata
Capers are used extensively in Sicilian cooking. Caponata is an iconic Sicilian favourite that many who live outside Sicily would be familiar with .
A traditional Sicilian caponata balances fried eggplant, celery, olives and agrodolce. There are many types of caponate (plural) made with various vegetables. Two most common varieties are the Palermitana (as described above) and the Catanese, which also includes peppers. While caponata contains both green olives and capers, it is the salted capers that provide the structure. Their saline intensity cuts through oil and sweetness, anchoring the dish to coastal Sicily. In Western Sicily, cooks increase the proportion of capers, shifting the dish from a gently sweet to a greater savoury profile. When I now make a caponata, I am using a greater amount of capers and am aware of the difference. With high-quality salted capers the flavour is unmistakably Sicilian.
Pesto di Capperi alla Siciliana
This pesto is simple to prepare and retains its flavour when kept in the refrigerator.
In this recipe, capers are not a background seasoning, but the defining flavour. Their salty, floral and slightly wild profile replaces basil. There are usually no set quantities in Sicilian recipes and everything is made by using eyes, taste and feel. Taste the pesto as you go and adjust to what you like.
Across western Sicily, capers are crushed with almonds, herbs and olive oil to create a textured paste with a distinctive flavour. This pesto celebrates salinity and aroma.
Spoon over grilled fish, toss through pasta, spread on bread or stir into boiled potatoes and beans.
Ingredients: adjust according to taste
4–6 tbsp salted capers, rinsed and dried
80 g blanched almonds
2 small garlic clove
A handful of flat-leaf parsley
Some mint leaves (optional)
Zest of 1/2- 1 lemon
8–12 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Pesto in Sicily is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle. I use a small food processor to make this. I carry it with me when I travel and it is with me in Adelaide at the moment.
Rinse, soak and dry capers. Soak sufficiently as you do not want the pesto to be over salty.
Crush garlic and almonds. Blend/pulse.
Add capers and pound (grind) to a coarse paste.
Work in herbs.
Add olive oil gradually to achieve a rustic texture.
Finish with pepper and some lemon zest.
Store in a glass jar. Cover with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil to help preserve the contents.
as mentioned above experiment and add more capers in Caponata:
The subtle power of vinegar and how Italians balance flavour is something I appreciate in my own kitchen. Beyond acidity and preservation, vinegar brings balance, gives structure to a dish, and harmony in everyday cooking.Italian cuisine has always been attentive to relationships on the palate: fat is balanced with acidity, sweetness is moderated by bitterness and warm dishes are often refreshed with a sharp element. I often deglaze pans with vinegar. A small splash in a warm pan releases an aroma and sharpness that immediately awakens the senses. And it smells fantastic!
Lemon brightens flavours and highlights bitterness, but vinegar behaves differently. It softens and steadies strong tastes, preventing them from becoming overpowering. Consequently, selecting the appropriate vinegar is a deliberate decision that is part of the cooking process.
In my pantry you will find several types of vinegar — commercial red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar and often homemade red wine vinegar. Over time I have learned to select each based on the dish’s requirements rather than habit. Understanding these differences is one of those small shifts that moves cooking from a mechanical to a thoughtful. process.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT VINEGAR
Red wine vinegar
Red wine vinegar is my preferred choice. Its consistent sharpness makes it a reliable ingredient for vinaigrettes, cooked vegetables, legume salads and the sweet-and-sour notes of agrodolce.
Its bold flavour is precisely its strength, allowing it to stand alongside robust ingredients without overpowering them.
White Wine Vinegar
White wine vinegar is lighter and less tannic than red wine vinegar, offering acidity without weight or colour. The acidity is expressed subtly.
I use it when working with tender leaves, fresh herbs, cucumber or zucchini and occasionally for deglazing fish or seafood when I prefer not to use wine. It is also suitable for some ceviche-style preparations, particularly for stronger-tasting fish, making it more suitable for lemon.
It also blends well into emulsified sauces such as mayonnaise or aioli, where lemon might otherwise dominate.
Sherry Vinegar
Sherry vinegar adds complexity rather than sharpness. A few drops are often sufficient.
I frequently drizzle it over simply roasted vegetables such as mushrooms, pumpkin, eggplant and beetroot, allowing their natural sweetness to complement its savoury depth. It is equally suitable for pan sauces for more strongly flavoured poultry such as duck or quail.
Sherry vinegar is the one I use when I want warmth rather than brightness.
Champagne Vinegar
Champagne vinegar possesses a restrained acidity. It is a subtle taste that supports rather than dominates.
I use it for soft tasting ingredients like lettuces, dishes with delicate herbs such as tarragon or chervil and salads that include fruit, like oranges, peaches and pears, where excessive sharpness would disrupt the balance. Champagne vinegar preserves elegance rather than overwhelming it.
Understanding Balsamic Vinegar
I am very careful with Balsamic vinegar and use it very sparingly because most varieties that are available are overly sweet and synthetic. Having tasted different batches of Balsamic Vinegar in Modena some years ago I know what I should be tasting!
Proper Balsamic Vinegar is aged. As with much of Italian cooking, its depth is shaped more by time than by intervention. No additives.
The most revered style is traditional balsamic, produced in Modena or Reggio Emilia from slowly cooked grape must and aged in a succession of wooden barrels for at least twelve years, often far longer. As the seasons pass and the liquid gently concentrates, it becomes darker, denser, and quietly complex. Only a few drops are needed — on Parmigiano Reggiano, ripe strawberries, or a finished risotto — where it deepens rather than dominates. And it is very expensive so one is frugal.
Most bottles encountered today are Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, is made from a blend of wine vinegar and grape must and matured for a shorter time. When well made, it is excellent to use in everyday cooking — vinaigrettes, used in agrodolce, or stirred through pan juices.
At the lower end, the type that is sold in supermarkets and labelled as Balsamic … and made in Italy…maturity is sometimes suggested rather than earned. Caramel for colour, thickeners for viscosity, and added sweetness offers quick roundness. Do the ingredients listed mention grape must? Not likely. And how many additives are listed, and is the information correct?
For this reason, many Italian cooks keep two bottles — one for daily cooking, the other patiently aged, reserved for the final moment when a dish calls for depth and quiet resonance. And they are willing to pay for it .
Homemade Red Wine Vinegar
Making homemade vinegar is a lesson in patience.
Its production is always slightly unpredictable, influenced by time, temperature and the vitality of its mother. When I am successful, in making it, the vinegar is softer and more layered than most commercial versions.
I treat it with the same respect as a high-quality extra virgin olive oil, often saving it for special salads or using it as a finishing touch, particularly with bitter leaves such as radicchio, chicory and endive.
When I have excess red wine left over, I begin another batch. Fermentation has its own schedule, and some jars take longer than anticipated. The waiting period becomes an integral part of the process.
For those who prefer not to make their own vinegar, a reputable delicatessen will often stock beautifully aged vinegars that are well worth purchasing.
RECIPE: A Traditional Method for Homemade Red Wine Vinegar
Rustic, reliable, and close to how vinegar is still produced in many homes across Italy and France.
Ingredients
750 ml–1 litre red wine (avoid heavily sulphated wines)
250–500 ml unpasteurised vinegar containing a live mother
1 small piece of rustic bread
Equipment
Wide-mouth glass jar or crock
Breathable cloth or cheesecloth
Rubber band or string
Wooden spoon
Method
Prepare the wine: Aim for an alcohol level of roughly 6–10%.
Add the starter culture: Pour the wine into the container, add the live vinegar, and drop in the bread — traditionally used to provide nutrients and encourage microbial activity.
Aerate and cover: Stir gently. Cover with cloth — oxygen is essential. Never seal airtight. When I have used a crockpot I have also used a smaller lid to keep the mother down and then covered it with gauze. I have never had problems with vinegar flies, but maybe I am just lucky!
Ferment: Store somewhere warm (18–27°C), dark, and undisturbed. Within 1–3 weeks, a gelatinous film — the mother — should form, and the aroma will shift from wine to tangy vinegar.
Taste and monitor: Begin tasting after four weeks. Most batches take 4–8 weeks, sometimes longer.
Finish: Remove the bread and bottle, or age further for deeper flavour. Always reserve some mother to start the next batch.
Practical Tips
Avoid metal lids touching the liquid.
Do not disturb the mother once formed.
Top up gradually with wine to create a continuous culture.
Discard if fuzzy mould appears; a smooth, jelly-like mother is normal.
Bitterness, Balance, and the Italian Table
Italian cuisine embraces bitterness — radicchio, chicory, scarola, and Belgian endive (witlof) are favourites in my kitchen.
Whether served raw or braised, vinegar is the quiet mediator that softens bitterness and creates equilibrium.
The following recipes reflect northern Italian traditions, where radicchio is celebrated.
A head of Firm Radicchio.
Here are a couple of recipes for radicchio.
Radicchio Agrodolce (Sweet–Sour Radicchio)
A classic example of bitterness balanced with acid and sweetness, widely associated with the Veneto region.
Firm Radicchio cut into wedges.
Ingredients
2 heads radicchio, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red or white sliced onion or spring onion
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar or honey (I often use 1 tbsp balsamic and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar instead)
Salt and black pepper
Optional: toasted or candied walnuts, pine nuts, raisins, or currants.
Method
Heat olive oil in a wide pan.
Sauté onion until soft and lightly sweet. If using spring onion sauté less (I overcooked mine)
Add radicchio cut-side down and cook until lightly charred.
Add vinegar and sweetener; toss gently.
Cook for 2–3 minutes until slightly wilted but still structured.
Season and serve warm.
Alternative Charred Version of Radicchio Agrodolce
For a deeper flavour:
Sear the wedges vigorously without moving them.
Turn once.
Deglaze with vinegar or a vinegar-balsamic mixture.
Add a touch of honey and butter, basting the radicchio on both sides in the pan until glossy or removing it before making the glaze.
Glaze for Cooked Radicchio.
Plating Tip: Serve wedges whole, slightly overlapped, with glaze spooned toward the core for visual structure.
Candied Walnuts (Perfect for Salads with bitter leaves)
Crisp, lightly glossy, and balanced — never overly sweet.
Ingredients
1 cup walnut halves
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
Pinch of salt
About a small teaspoon of wine vinegar
Method
Toast walnuts lightly in a dry pan until fragrant.
Add fat, sugar, and salt. Once the begin to melt add the vinegar.
Stir continuously until caramelised.
Spread on baking paper and cool completely.
Radicchio Salad with Balsamic and Parmigiano
Another northern Italian classic — simple, structured, and refined.
Ingredients
Radicchio leaves, torn
Parmigiano Reggiano shavings
Toasted walnuts (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Good-quality red wine vinegar, balsamic, or both
Salt and black pepper
Method
Toss radicchio with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Add vinegar gradually, tasting until the balance feels right — acidity should support, not dominate.
Plating Suggestions
Use a large plate and leave some negative space.
Build height rather than spreading the salad flat.
Add contrasting textures such as shaved fennel, citrus segments, firm pears sliced, nuts and fried capers. I also use firm peaches or vanilla persimmons, although these are not traditional ingredients. However, cuisine evolves and even traditional cuisine changes.
Finish with a final gloss of olive oil and intentionally placed shaved Parmigiano.
These small decisions/ finishing touches elevate salads from rustic home cooking to quietly sophisticated.
Palermo is often described as chaotic, beautiful and a contradictory city — but to understand it properly, you have to peel it back, layer by layer because Sicily’s capital is not a city that reveals itself at first glance.
Like the island itself, Palermo rewards return visits, slow observation and curiosity. This process for discovering Palermo is a concept I explored many years ago in a travel competition article, Palermo and Sicily… Peeling back the onion.
Palermo’s strength lies in its depth. Each visit reveals a new layer—political, architectural, culinary or personal.
Palermo’s impressive Cathedral.
This post summarises some of Palermo’s cultural and historic attractions and aims to inspire travel to this impressive city.
Hand painted Sicilian horse cart.
I was particularly impressed by the grand historic buildings and luxurious Liberty-style villas and apartments, especially on the outskirts of Palermo. I was also struck by the contrast of accommodation often from street to street. However, do not be deceived by the exterior of some buildings. For instance, I once stayed in an apartment in the centre of Palermo that was unremarkable on the outside but had been tastefully renovated on the inside with modern conveniences, fresco-painted ceilings and antique furniture. The couple who owned it lived in a separate part of the large apartment.
Some residential housing.
Reading the post on Palermo and Sicily has prompted me to revisit the city. Reviewing my photographs has reinforced this desire.
Palermo – Teatro Massimo
Palermo as a capital, not a curiosity
For centuries, Palermo was not a provincial outpost but a Mediterranean capital. Under Roger II of Sicily, it became the seat of power of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily — governed from the Palazzo dei Normanni.
Palermo- Palazzo dei Normanni.
This was a court where Arab administrators, Greek scholars and Latin clergy worked side by side, leaving behind an architectural and cultural legacy unlike anywhere else in Europe
Where cultures overlap
The layered nature of Palermo is visible everywhere. Byzantine mosaics glow above Islamic wooden ceilings in the Cappella Palatina. Norman churches wear Arab domes. Baroque façades frame medieval streets.
Nothing here is erased. Everything is added.
This is why Palermo feels so different from cities that present history in neat, separated chapters.
Palermo – The Church of San Cataldo, an example of the wonderful Arabian-Norman architecture with its characteristic red domes is situated next to Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio (also called La Martorana) is from the mid 12th century.
Markets as living archaeology
To understand Palermo at street level, you go to the markets.
In Ballarò Market and La Vucciria, the city’s Arab past survives not in monuments but in sound, rhythm and ritual.
Traders shout in Sicilian dialect. Fish is displayed under red awnings. Scents of fried street food and roasted peppers are in the air.
It is much more than nostalgia — it’s continuity.
Food as a record of history
Palermo’s food tells the same layered story.
The “traditional dishes” are edible evidence of Arab, Norman and Mediterranean exchanges. Sweet meets savoury. Fish replaces meat. Breadcrumbs stand in for cheese.
Antica Focacceria San Francesco is a historic eatery located in the heart of the city, opposite the church of St Francis of Assisi. It offers some of Sicily’s most iconic, authentic Palermo street food in a historic setting.
Even today, contemporary chefs reinterpret these dishes rather than abandon them, another example of Palermo adding layers rather than stripping them away. This trend is also evident among younger Sicilians who, like the rest of us, have greater access to media and modern and international cuisine.
Escaping the centre, without leaving the city
Peeling back another layer means leaving the historic quarters without leaving Palermo.
Liberty-style villas, gardens like Villa Giulia, or a bus ride to Mondello or Monreale reveal a softer, lighter side of the city — still unmistakably Sicilian, still deeply connected to food, leisure and the sea.
Close to Palermo is Mondello.
**For a deeper exploration of Palermo and Sicily through memory, history and return visits, you can read my longer composition:
Chickpeas — ceci, or cìciri in Sicilian — have been part of Sicily’s cucina povera’s cooking for centuries. Quiet, sustaining, and deeply rooted in the land, they belong to a cuisine of continuity rather than elaborate dishes.
Ancient Roots
Archaeological and botanical evidence places chickpeas among the earliest cultivated legumes of the eastern Mediterranean. When the Greeks settled Sicily from the 8th century BCE, they embedded ceci into an agricultural pattern based on cereals, legumes, olive oil, and wild greens — a pattern still visible in Sicily’s most subtle dishes.
During the Arab period (9th–11th centuries), chickpeas became even more central. Improved irrigation, crop rotation, and dry-farming techniques made legumes reliable in Sicily’s arid interior. Just as important was a shared culinary philosophy: slow cooking, few aromatics, and respect for the ingredient’s natural flavour and nourishment.
By the Middle Ages, ceci were firmly rooted in inland rural diets, where wheat and legumes formed the backbone of daily sustenance.
In later medieval history, ceci (chickpeas) took on an unexpectedly political role in Sicily. On Easter Monday, 30 March 1282, as crowds gathered in Palermo for Vespers, long-standing resentment against the rule of Charles I of Anjou erupted into open rebellion. According to tradition, the French were identified by their inability to pronounce the Sicilian word for chickpeas without a lisp. What began as a small incident became the spark for the Sicilian Vespers uprising, turning a humble legume into a linguistic marker of resistance and identity.
A Food of Continuity, Not A SHOWPIECE
Sicilian chickpea dishes are understated by design. They reflect cucina povera — not deprivation, but shaped by climate, season, and scarcity. Chickpeas often replaced meat, providing sustenance for households for several days.
On 13 December, the feast of Santa Lucia, chickpeas take on special meaning in Sicily, particularly in Palermo. According to tradition, during a medieval famine a ship carrying grain and chickpeas arrived in the port after prayers to the saint. Too hungry to wait for flour to be milled, people boiled the grains and legumes and ate them whole.
In gratitude, Palermitans vowed to avoid flour on Santa Lucia’s day. Chickpeas — eaten simply or included in cuccìa (dish traditionally made with boiled wheat berries, often mixed with chickpeas). It remain a tradition, a symbol of survival, humility, and collective memory rather than celebration.
Santa Christina Cathedral Palermo.
Growing and Harvesting
In Sicily, chickpeas are usually sown in late winter or spring and harvested in summer. The plants are left until the pods dry on the stalk, ensuring a dependable winter staple.
Before drying, some chickpeas were eaten fresh — a fleeting seasonal pleasure.
A Note on Fresh (Green) Chickpeas — Ceci Freschi
Before drying, chickpeas were sometimes eaten fresh. Harvested in late spring or early summer, they are pale green, faintly sweet, and closer to fresh peas in texture. Their shelf life is short — less than a week — and they are best cooked simply, as for ceci in umido (recipe below), or eaten straight from the pod while harvesting in the fields.
A fresh chickpea( ceci) plant with pods containing green chickpeas.
Their brief season reflects an agricultural rhythm that shaped Sicilian cooking for centuries: some foods were enjoyed only when the land allowed it.
How Chickpeas Are Traditionally Eaten in Sicily
1. Ceci con Erbe Spontanee (Chickpeas with Wild Greens)
A classic countryside pairing. Chickpeas cook gently while seasonal greens are added toward the end: Wild fennel, Wild Chicory, Dandelion, Borage.
Wild fennel sold in bunches.
Finished simply with olive oil — sometimes a squeeze of lemon.
2. Minestra di Ceci (Chickpea Soup)
Common in mountainous areas, monasteries, and farming households. These soups were cooked in large quantities and eaten over several days — practical, sustaining, and deeply comforting. Chickpeas simmer in their broth and are often poured over bread placed directly in the bowl. Sometimes broken spaghetti is added. Always finished with olive oil and rather than chilli, black ground black pepper.
3. Panelle
Palermo’s iconic street food: chickpea flour cooked with water and salt, spread into thin sheets, cut into small rectangles or squares, and fried until crisp. Simple, addictive, and unmistakably Sicilian.
4. Ceci in Umido (Stewed Chickpeas)
A dish shaped by restraint. Tomato — a later arrival — is used sparingly or omitted altogether inland. Onion softens slowly in olive oil, garlic perfumes briefly, and chickpeas do most of the work.
RECIPES
I research traditional Sicilian sources, and the most reliable versions of recipes I have found in my books is from Pino Correnti’s Il Libro d’Oro della Cucina e dei Vini di Sicilia. As with many Italian recipes, they are simple and written without measurements.
These dishes belong to an older culinary world, predating tomatoes. They are the kind of sustaining soups that fed farmers, monks, and households through winter.
I include two traditional recipes detailed, more modern Sicilian recipes for chickpeas that are more suited to contemporary cooks:
* Ceci in Umido (Sicilian Stewed Chickpeas)
* Minestra di Ceci (Sicilian Chickpea Soup)
Ciciri ca Pasta a Catanisa Chickpeas with Pasta, Catania Style
An eastern Sicilian variation, even simpler, is pasta with chickpeas alla catanese. The chickpeas are cooked together with onion and, in the same cooking water, broken spaghetti is added and boiled. The dish is dressed simply with raw olive oil and freshly ground black pepper or chilli.
Ciciri ca Pasta Saccense Chickpeas with Pasta from Sciacca
The version from the area between Sciacca and Agrigento is simpler. It uses cooked chickpeas mixed with about half a kilo of wild fennel, two cloves of garlic, and tagghiarini made fresh — small lasagne-style strips of dough rolled out by hand on the board just before cooking.
Facade of a building in Sciacca.
*Ceci in Umido (Sicilian Stewed Chickpeas)
A humble but deeply satisfying dish, served as a light main or contorno.
Ingredients (serves 4)
300 g dried chickpeas
1 small onion, finely chopped
1–2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
3–4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus more to finish)
2 tbsp tomato passata or 1 tbsp tomato paste diluted with water
1 bay leaf or a small sprig of oregano
Salt and black pepper
Water or light vegetable broth or stock
Method
Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and rinse.
Cover the chickpeas in fresh water and simmer until tender (40–50minutes). Reserve liquid.
Cook onion slowly in olive oil until soft, never coloured.
Add garlic briefly, then tomato and aromatics. Cook gently.
Add chickpeas with enough liquid to cover. Simmer until the sauce thickens naturally.
Finish with black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin, fragrant olive oil.
Regional notes
In central Sicily (Enna, Caltanissetta), tomato is often omitted altogether.
It is eaten with bread — bread here is the accompaniment.
This is a dish that reflects Arab influence not through spice, but through method: slow cooking, minimal intervention, and respect for the legume itself.
*Minestra di Ceci (Sicilian Chickpea Soup)
Cucina povera at its purest — chickpeas, aromatics, olive oil, and patience.
Ingredients (serves 4)
300 g dried chickpeas
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 cloves garlic
3–4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus more to finish)
1 bay leaf or wild fennel stems
Salt and black pepper
Optional: potato cubes or greens. In Melbourne, I am unable to purchase wild greens but can buy seasonal vegetables such as chicory, beets/chard and spinach.
Method
Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and rinse.
Cover the chickpeas in fresh water and simmer until tender (40–50minutes).
Reserve liquid.
Gently cook onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil until soft. Add garlic briefly, then chickpeas and liquid.
Simmer uncovered 15-20 mins, crushing a few chickpeas to thicken.
Add potatoes or greens if using.
Rest, season, and finish with raw olive oil.
Present the soup with: With crusty bread or garlic-rubbed toast or topped with wild fennel fronds
The soup is better the next day — flavours deepen with time.
Chickpeas (ceci),I almost always have jars in my freezer.
In Italy, lentils (lenticchie) are particularly eaten on New Year’s Eve (Capodanno) as they are one of the most enduring symbols of good luck, prosperity and abundance. As the old year concludes and the new one begins, bowls of lentils are placed on tables across the country, consumed with the hopeful belief that they will bring financial security and good fortune in the months ahead.
If you believe in tradition, eat them before midnight and make a wish for the year ahead.
Brown lentils (also known as green lentils) are followed by Puy (also known as French lentils) and a smaller variety of brown lentils.
The Symbolism of Lentils
The symbolism is ancient. Lentils’ small, round, coin-like shape has long been associated with money and wealth. This idea dates back to Roman times, when lentils were exchanged at the turn of the year in the hope they would transform into coins. Over centuries, this belief became embedded in Italian food culture, turning lentils into an essential New Year ritual rather than an everyday superstition. Some traditions even claim that the more lentils you eat, the greater your prosperity will be.
Traditional Pairings
Lentils are commonly paired with rich pork dishes such as cotechino or zampone but are equally satisfying when prepared on their own or with vegetables, herbs and olive oil. They can be served warm and garnished as a salad. These gently braised lentils are rich, comforting and symbolic, a dish to welcome prosperity in the coming year without being heavy. I have included a traditional and cultural recipe for lentils with cotechino on my blog.
I also enjoy braising good quality pork sausages with lentils. I am particularly fond of both of these dishes but it is also suitable for a warm Australian evening or as a salad for a barbecue. It can be eaten warm at room temperature or even the following day. In fact, like most lentil dishes, it improves with time.
This dish is more commonly associated with the north of Italy, but as we know, food habits change. Recipes travel. Traditions adapt. Just as panettone has become a Christmas fixture in Australia, lentils have found their way onto many New Year tables well beyond Italy. Lentils are traditionally eaten at the turn of the year because their coin-like shape symbolises wealth and abundance. This simple preparation allows their meaning — and flavour — to shine, making it a perfect dish to usher in the New Year with intention, restraint, and hope.
Lentils as an accompaniment to stuffed artichokes.
Customising and Enjoying Your Lenticchie di Capodanno
I have always prepared lentils in this manner, so I have never considered writing a recipe. For those who prefer Indian or Middle Eastern flavours, it is simple to omit the bay, rosemary and thyme and add Indian or Middle Eastern spices.
The cooking method will look familiar. Onion, carrot, and celery make their inevitable appearance — the Italian usual suspects. This soffritto forms the base of countless soups, braises, and stews, and it works just as well here.
You can easily adjust quantities. Add more lentils if you like leftovers (and you should). They reheat beautifully, and with a little extra liquid can even be turned into soup the next day — particularly welcome if you are living somewhere cooler than I am.
Serve warm or at room temperature or as a salad with a few additional simple ingredients.
And do appreciate the leftovers. The flavours deepen over the next few days. Very good eating indeed.
Italian New Year’s Lentils with Olive Oil, Garlic & Herbs
(Lenticchie di Capodanno all’Olio d’Oliva)
INGREDIENTS
4–6 as a side or light main
250 g dried lentils (Green lentils or Puy lentils)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2–3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 bay leaf
A small sprig of rosemary or thyme
Vegetable stock or water (as needed)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Rinse the lentils thoroughly. If using high-quality small lentils, soaking is not necessary.
In a wide saucepan, warm the olive oil over gentle heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook slowly until soft and fragrant, without browning.
Stir in the lentils, bay leaf, and herbs. Coat well in the aromatic base.
Add enough stock or water to cover the lentils by about 3 cm. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Cook uncovered for 25–35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Add more liquid if needed.
Season with salt and pepper towards the end of cooking. Remove the bay leaf and herb sprigs.
Serving Suggestions and Tips
Serve warm in a shallow bowl, make it glistening with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
For a salad add a little lemon zest, lemon juice or wine vinegar and for brightness finely chopped parsley.
Pair with sautéed greens, roasted vegetables, or crusty bread.
Roasted vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots and potatoes can be added to lentils for a hot or cold dish.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Flavours improve overnight.
Pasta con le Sarde is one of Sicily’s most iconic dishes, a simple yet deeply expressive recipe that brings together sardines, fennel, and ingredients that reflect the island’s long and layered history.
**On my blog, there are numerous recipes for Pasta con le Sarde written over many years with many photographs and va. However, I have created a simpler recipe for those who prefer a quicker cooking method during the often busy Christmas season. I had also prepared this recipe for the SBS Italian radio session but there was no time to discuss it. (I always over prepare!) The Italian link to the recipe:PASTA CON LE SARDE, RICETTA SEMPLICE
Sardines are plentiful in Sicilian waters, wild fennel grows freely when in season, and flavours such as pine nuts, currants, and saffron speak clearly of the Arab influence that shaped so much of Sicilian cooking. The finishing touch, muddica atturrata — toasted breadcrumbs — replaces cheese and is unmistakably Sicilian.
I will most likely consider Pasta con le Sarde for the Festive Christmas period.
A Dish Rooted in Sicilian Tradition
This is a dish born of necessity and ingenuity. In Sicily, pasta is eaten almost daily, and pasta con le sarde has long been a way to transform humble, accessible ingredients into something memorable.
When wild fennel is unavailable, cultivated fennel works well. I use the bulb, the fronds, and sometimes a small amount of fennel seed to echo the aroma of the wild plant. Wild fennel is seasonal and in Sicily it is sold in bunches in markets. Sicilians would respect the seasonality of wild fennel and probably cook Pasta con le Sarde in the right seasons.
Bucatini is my preferred pasta shape, but spaghetti is equally suitable.
Bucatini con Sarde
Ingredients
500 g bucatini, preferred traditional pasta
700 g fresh sardines, cleaned and filleted
200 g wild fennel (or 2 large fennel bulb with fronds + 1 tsp fennel seeds)
Approximately 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
4 anchovy fillets
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped (optional)
¾ cup currants
½–1 tsp saffron
Salt and black pepper
***4–5 tbsp breadcrumbs, toasted in a frypan with little extra virgin oil. I like to add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon while it is toasting and some finely grated lemon peel.
Method (Simple)
1. Cook the fennel
Boil the wild fennel in salted water for 10–15 minutes. Reserve the fragrant green cooking water for the pasta. Drain, squeeze well, and finely chop.
If using cultivated fennel: Cut the bulb into quarters and boil with the fennel seeds. Save the fronds for later. If there are fennel stalks boil them as well to flavour the water. Remove the stalks and seeds (drain), chop the fennel, and reserve the water to cook the pasta.
2. Prepare the sauce
In a wide pan, gently cook the onions in the olive oil until soft and golden.
Add the anchovy fillets and stir until they dissolve, then the pine nuts, currants, and almonds (if using).
Add two-thirds of the sardines, roughly chopped, along with salt, pepper, and some fennel fronds (or a little of the chopped fennel). Cook gently for 5–10 minutes.
Stir in the cooked fennel and saffron dissolved in a little warm water.
3. Cook the pasta
Cook the bucatini in the reserved fennel water until al dente. Drain well.
4. Cook the remaining sardines
In a separate pan, lightly fry the remaining sardine fillets. Set aside for finishing the dish.
5. Assemble
Add the pasta to the sardine sauce and toss gently. Allow it to rest for 5–10 minutes so the flavours can meld.
Carefully fold in the whole sardine fillets. Serve topped generously with muddica atturrata.
I did not blanch the almonds in this version of Pasta con Le Sarde. I do not always blanch nuts or toast them to remove their skins.
6. IF YOU WISH TO MAKE THE BAKED VERSION
Grease an oven dish and dust with toasted breadcrumbs. Layer pasta and sauce, adding a few whole sardines between layers. Finish with breadcrumbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and optionally a pinch of sugar and cinnamon.
Bake at 200°C for about 10 minutes, until a light crust forms.
