It has been a while since I have had an Easter in Sicily and I am feeling very nostalgic about being in Ragusa. This year, a large group of my relatives inRagusa are all going to celebrate lunch at Stefania and Aurelio’s country house, just outside Ragusa and I wish I could be with them.The country house is a stable which in the 18 Century belonged to a local Baron called La Rocca.
Stefania and Aurelio bought the property several years ago (it also has a few surrounding buildings and land) and they are slowly converting it into a beautiful holiday home. They are using local artisans to recreate and restore many features in the original style and character. As much as possible they have kept its original outside appearance and interior features, especially the original carved wooden ceiling.
I do miss my relatives (and the feast that they will be sharing), but I also miss Spring in Sicily.
In Sicily, spring is the start of everything. It is the time when the island comes alive – flowers bloom, vines sprout and vegetables ripen. Spring is the celebration of life, which in cultural and religious terms is expressed in Easter. In Sicily Primavera (Spring) and Pasqua (Easter) are a fusion of nature and culture, family and food.
The ancient Greeks (once settlers in Sicily) also marked spring and – like the Christian Easter – their myth celebrated another resurrection from the dead through the legend of Persephone.
The Greeks considered Sicily to be Persephone’s island because, according to the myth, Pluto, the god of Hades, who imprisoned her in his underworld realm, abducted Persephone from the Sicilian town of Enna.
So Persephone’s grieving mother, the goddess Demeter, (goddess of agriculture) plunged the island into a barren winter, until Zeus, the father of the gods, struck a bargain with Pluto to let Persephone to return to land of the living for six months of the year. So it is that when Persephone is released from Hades, Demeter allowed the world to thaw and bloom before her daughter must once again return to Pluto and Hades.
The pagan traditions were slightly transformed and unofficially accepted into the rites surrounding devotion to the Christian saints. Offerings of bread, cheeses, and sweets, associated with pagan harvest rituals, are common in many of the present-day festivals.
Some of the foods the relatives will be eating are on my previous posts.
There will also be baked capretto (kid) and wild spring greens collected from their property and sauteed in virgin olive oil and garlic (see top photos, taken at one of the other family feasts in the country house).
Franca will make scacce and sguogghiu (alternatives to scacce)
They will be buying cassata from the pasticceria (pastry shop) and making cassatedde. In Ragusa (and nearby Modica) these are little baked tarts with a pastry bottom and a ricotta, sugar, egg and cinnamon. Some add candied orange.
In the rest of Sicily, cassatedde are ravioli like pastries and fried.
The pasta will be a must. Zia Niluzza will be making gnucchateddi (causunedda) all night for so many people!( She never takes off her jewellery when making pasta). She may even make large ricotta ravioli with a strong ragu made with pork and conserva (strong tomato paste).
And there will be homemade liquers: Nocello (made with green walnuts) and Mandarinetto (made with green mandarins)
And small sweets: Cotogniata (quince paste) rolled in sugar and Giuggiulena (or sesame seed torrone). It is also called Cubbaita and is said to be a legacy from the Arabs who lived in Sicily.
Giuggiulena, recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1k honey, 1 k sesame seeds, 4 cups sugar, ½ teaspoon of each: cinnamon, cloves, grated orange peel.
PROCESSES
Melt the sugar in a large saucepan on very low heat, when sugar is melted add honey. Add sesame seeds and aromatics mix well. Remove the torrone from the heat quickly (or the sesame seeds my burn). Let cool slightly.
Pour mixture onto a tray with baking paper or a marble that has been coated with oil. Spread evenly and quickly before the torrone hardens, cut into rectangular pieces before it cools and store in airtight containers.
Photos of Stefania and Aurelio’s country house:
Aurelio with one of his horses on the property.
One of the many lunches at the property. On this occasion the local cheese makers were invited…..this is why there are all those men at the table. They bought cheeses for us to taste.
At an event at The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival I was telling a person how I try only to eat sustainable fish.
She could not imagine this – her favourite fish are tuna, swordfish (these fish are overfished), Atlantic salmon and Ocean trout (both are farmed in aquaculture cages and are of conservation concern). She also liked scallops and was surprised to hear about the damaging effects of the way that most scallops are harvested – by seafloor trawling and dredging and these methods damage seafood beds and habitats.
Cooking and eating sustainable fish does not have to be boring. Last week as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival I ate at these two venues.
These are photographs of a few of the sustainable fish dishes I ate at both places.
Cafe Vue at Heide, Heide Museum of Art, 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen.
this featured a contemporary version of several dishes from Sundays Kitchen: Food and Living at Heide, based on the reminiscences of friends and intimates about the hospitality of John and Sunday Reed at Heide,
(I ate at a number of restaurants during this event, but I remain very impresssed by the food and the fabulous wine list at Cafe Vue at Heide. The first photo (above) is the Tomato Consomme (clear) with a small terrine made from crab and avocado.
The second photo (above) is the Sea Bream with large couscous (heavily flavoured with citrus).
The Terrace @ Royal Botanic Gardens was the venue for the event Imagine a World without Seafood (The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Sustainable Seafood).
This featured an interactive cooking competition some of Melbourne’s best apprentice chefs showcasing a creative approach to cooking with sustainable seafood.
ACF’ is developing a new and exciting sustainable living initiative making it easy for people to choose sustainable seafood.
The menu focused on specific species of fish in specific regions where sustainable practices are used by the producer. For example the way that most prawns are harvested is by seafloor trawling. The fishery which provided the Western king prawns uses management and harvesting techniques that ensure that the prawns are caught in an ecologically sustainable way.
These photos beginning with the top one are:
Barramundi (Cone Bay) with a Thai salad.
Prawns (Spencer Gulf) with green and yellow mango, pomegranate and avocado guacamole and tamarind aioli.
Tortellini of olive oil braised Barramundi (Cone Bay) with soft herbs and tartare beurre blanc.
Crispy, deep fried Yellow-eye mullet (wild caught in the Coorong) with a chermouala dipping sauce on a bed of rocket. See feature photo.
On Monday, 15th March I attended a dinner at Society Restaurant, Melbourne.
Massimiliano Ferraiuolo is a chef (originally from Naples) who is visiting from Italy for a week’s residence at Society Restaurant and cooking each evening. The event is part of The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and is called Around Italy in 7 Days – Travel north to south with a different gastronomic journey each night.
As you know, there is no such thing as Italian food, you have to specify the region and this event began with a menu with dishes from the Dolomiti, a group of impressive mountains in the eastern section of the northern Italian Alps. Living in Trieste as a child I know and visited the nearby towns Sappada and Corina D’Ampezzo, where I ate rustic food in trattorie.
This was not what I remember eating in the trattorie (domestic traditional), but I was not disappointed. The food was of high quality, very professional, adventurous and modern, beautifully presented on the plate and with the flavours and ingredients faithful to the region. I say modern, because the duck and the venison fillet were served rare (as is in let’ s say the France tradition). The service was excellent .There was also generosity with the wine – the glasses kept on being filled.
The event first advertised Sicily as the final destination. Unfortunately diners will need to make do with evenings in Naples (Chef’s home town so this should be good) Sardegna and Puglia.
Massimiliano, grazie.
Mi e`piaciuto tutto quello che hai preparato e ho apprezzato la difficoltà che hai avuto per trovare i prodotti adatti. . Forse quello che mi è piaciuto di piu’, è stato il baccalà mantecato – lo mangiavo spesso a Trieste…. e quegli gnocchetti Tirolesi.
Complimenti a tutti in cucina. (And all staff).
Marisa
LE DOLOMITI
Monday 15 March, 2010
This is the menu (there were choices), and these are the photos:
ANTIPASTI
Pan seared duck with asparagus and artichokes.
Venetian dried cod with pea mousse and rye bread (photo).
PRIMI
Ravioli filled with ricotta and ravioli filled with porcini mushrooms and veal
Tyrolean dumplings, with fondant cream cheese sauce and shallow fried proscuitto di Parma (photo).
SECONDI
Venison fillet pan seared with autumn vegetables (photo).
Venison shanks (slow cooked) in a red wine jus with cherries, potatoes and black pepper.
DOLCI
Warm apple strudel with vanilla ice cream and crème anglaise
Pistachio crème brulee with lemon and olive oil ice cream and fresh fruit.
PER FINIRE
Fresh berries and nuts dipped in bitter chocolate, an amaretto and some caramels.
(It was even covered with snow (icing sugar) from the Mountains. See feature photo.
The Sicilian caponata is commonly made with eggplants especially in Palermo However, my mother’s family comes from Catania where this version of caponata also contains peppers (capsicums) as one of the principal ingredients. This regional variationis also found in many other parts of Sicily and not just in the southeastern areas.I’ve enjoyed this peppery caponata in restaurants across various Sicilian cities, including Syracuse, Sciacca, Mazara del Vallo, Agrigento, Ragusa Ibla, and Caltagirone.
Apart from the main vegetables (eggplants as in Palermo or eggplants and peppers as in Catania) the principal and most common flavourings that characterise any Sicilian caponata are: celery, onion, capers, green olives and the sweet and sour, caramelised sauce made with vinegar and sugar (the agro dolce).
Sicilians love to debate the authentic version of caponata (as they do with all recipes), with each family having their own cherished version. Some prefer tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes, while others swear by the addition of garlic or even chocolate. Nuts like almonds, pine nuts, or pistachios frequently make an appearance, and herbs such as basil, oregano, or mint vary from one recipe to another. Some versions include raisins or currants, while others add fresh pears. One neighbor of mine, whose family also from Catania, even adds a few potatoes.This is very foreign to me, but obviously it happens.
Summer and autumn are prime seasons for making caponata, as peppers and eggplants are at their peak and this is a reason why it is perfect for an Australian Christmas. However, Sicily’s climate allows for eggplants and peppers year-round, thanks to the extensive use of serre (greenhouses) that were initially installed in great numbers in 1960-1965. These have continued to grow in numbers. Sicily, followed by Spain has the highest numbers of eggplants in terms of cultivation
Caponata brings a burst of flavour and tradition to the Christmas festivities and is also served during New Year celebrations. This iconic, vibrant dish, with its rich blend of eggplants, peppers, (and to a non-Sicilian), other surprising ingredients such as capers, olives and agrodolce sauce, lifts the spirits of the season and makes the meal a celebration.
Before the serre (glasshouses), eggplants and peppers were not in season and there were versions of caponata made with green leafy vegetables (pre-cooked in boiling salted water, drained, then added to the sautéed onion, olives, capers and the agro dolce sauce). This was called the Christmas caponata. There is also a not very common version of winter caponata made with celery, almonds and sultanas that I rather like, (recipe link below).
Unlike typical side dishes, caponata is often served as a small appetizer (or a spuntino – a snack), paired with a slice of bread to mop up the juices. It is intended to whet the appetite. After enjoying this savory starter, a meal might continue with a primo (first course), a secondo (main dish), a contorno (side vegetables), a dolce (dessert) and probably more sweets.
I always fry my vegetables separately because vegetables cook at different rates and it is far better to fry or sauté food in batches than crowd the pan.
Traditionally in caponata, the celery is pre-cooked in salted, boiling water before being added to the other ingredients. However, because I like the taste of the crunchy celery I have never pre-cooked it.
The legacy of my grandmother’s caponata continues to thrive. Friends who have savored my version are now inspired to make it themselves.
I cooked caponata for my cousin, who visited me in Melbourne from the US several years ago. He and his wife were enthralled by the dish, and it stirred up fond memories of his mother’s cooking—my aunt (my mother’s sister), who died several years ago. He asked me to send him the recipe, and when he received it, he replied:
“As I read your recipe for caponata, I could smell the flavors, just like when my mother was making it.”
Now, he’s sharing the joy of caponata with his friends and family back in the US, keeping the tradition alive across the ocean.
This version of caponata was published in the summer issue of the magazine, Italianicious (Essence of Italy, Dec 2009). The summer issue was a special edition on Sicily and I was asked to contribute. Each issue of Italianicious contains information and stories about all things Italian in Italy and in Australia.
Do not feel intimidated by the long list of steps to cook it. It really is a very simple process, but it does take some time to make.
INGREDIENTS
For 4-6 people
extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup (more or less – depending how much the vegetables will absorb)
eggplants, 2 large, dark skinned variety
peppers, 3, preferably 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow (variation of colour is mainly for appearance, but the red and yellow ones taste sweeter)
onion, 1, large, sliced thinly,
red tomatoes, 2 medium size, peeled and chopped, or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and a little water
capers, ½ cup, salted or in brine
green olives, ¾ cup, stoned, chopped
celery, 2-3 tender stalks and the pale green leaves (both from the centre of the celery)
white, wine vinegar, 2 spoonfulls
½ cup sugar,
1 tablespoon of salt (to soak the eggplants)
some freshly ground pepper and extra salt as needed
basil leaves, several
PROCESSES
Preparation of the ingredients:
Cut the eggplant into cubes (approx 30mm) – do not peel. Place the cubes into abundant water with about 1 tablespoon of salt. Leave for about 30 minutes – this will keep the flesh white and the eggplant is said to absorb less oil if soaked previously.
Prepare the capers – if they are the salted variety, ensure they have been rinsed thoroughly and then soaked for about 30 minutes before use, and then rinsed again.
Cut the peppers into slices (approx 20mm) or into rectangular shapes.Slice the onion.
Slice the celery sticks and the green leaves finely.Peel, and coarsely chop the tomatoes (or use tomato paste).
The Cooking:
Drain the eggplants and squeeze them to remove as much water as possible – I use a clean tea towel.
Heat a large frypan over medium heat with ¾ cup of the extra virgin olive oil.Add eggplant cubes and sauté until soft and golden (about 10-12 minutes). Place the drained eggplants into a large bowl and set aside (all of the vegetables will be added to this same bowl). Drain the oil from the eggplants back into the same frypan and re-use this oil to fry the next ingredients.
Add some new oil (to the left-over eggplant oil) plus a little salt and sauté the peppers, until wilted and beginning to turn brown (about 10-12 minutes). Remove the peppers from the pan and drain the oil from the peppers back into the same frypan. Place the peppers in the bowl with the eggplants.
Add a little more oil to the pan and sauté the celery gently for 5-7 minutes, so that it retains some of its crispness (in more traditional recipes, the celery is always boiled until soft before being sautéed). Sprinkle the celery with a little salt while it is cooking. Remove the celery from the pan and add it to the eggplants and peppers.
Sauté the onion, having added a little more oil to the frypan. Add a little salt and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes or the tomato paste (with a little water) to the onions, and allow their juice to evaporate. Add the capers and olives. Allow these ingredients to cook gently for 1- 2 minutes. Empty the contents of the frypan into the bowl with the other cooked vegetables.
For the agro- dolce sauce (sweet and sour sauce):
Add the sugar to the frypan (already coated with the caramelised flavours from the vegetables). Heat it very gently until it begins to melt and bubble. Add the vinegar and evaporate. Incorporate the cooked vegetables into the frypan with the agro-dolce sauce.
Add ground pepper, check for salt and add more if necessary. Add basil leaves: these are likely to discolour and I usually remove them and replace them with fresh basil leaves at the time of serving.
Gently toss all of the ingredients over low heat for 2-3 minutes to blend the flavours.
Remove the caponata from the pan and cool before placing it into one or more containers. Store in the fridge until ready to use – it will keep well for up to one week and it improves with age.
The final touches, select from the following options and sprinkle on the top of the caponata:
Crispy pangrattato – breadcrumbs from day-old, good quality bread. The crumbs are tossed in a pan with a little hot extra virgin olive oil until they are golden, toasted and crunchy.
Pine nuts or blanched chopped almonds, toasted.
Fresh basil or mint leaves.
Eat the caponata at room temperature accompanied by good quality bread to mop up the juices.
*** I first published this post In Feb 2010.
In my Book Sicilian Seafood Cooking, there is a whole chapter devoted to Caponata – made with various vegetables.
Sicilian Seafood Cooking was first published in Nov. 2011 and republished in Dec. 2014.
I am very fond of spinach and next time I visit my sister-in-law in Adelaide, I plan to cook something that holds a special place in our family’s culinary tradition—what my mother always called Omelet di Spinaci. This humble yet elegant dish made quite an impression on my Australian sister-in-law; it was, in fact, one of the very first meals my mother prepared for her when she was welcomed into our home for a Sunday lunch.
Despite its name, omelet—a slightly corrupted version of the French omelette—these are not the fluffy egg-based dishes you might expect. Rather, they are delicate crepes filled with a rich mixture of ricotta and spinach sautéed gently in butter. The filling is similar to what we used in cannelloni, and the crepes themselves are sometimes referred to as crispelle in other regions of Italy.
Sunday lunch was always a grand affair in my parents’ house. It was the day we invited guests to share our table, and my mother would go to great lengths to create something memorable. When we first arrived in Australia from Trieste, in northern Italy, Omelet di Spinaci were very much in vogue—and for a time, they became her signature dish whenever company came over.
Often, the filled crepes were topped with a rich sugo made from high-quality minced veal and beef, slow-cooked to bring out deep, layered flavours. Other times, she would pair them with vitello arrosto—a dish that, despite its name, was never oven-roasted. Instead, the veal was braised slowly on the stovetop, producing a deeply savoury jus that served both as a sauce for the omelets and as the perfect accompaniment to the meat, which was served as the secondo.
These flavours remain deeply tied to my memories of home and hospitality. Cooking Omelet di Spinaci in Adelaide will not only bring a taste of our family’s traditions to the table—it will also be a tribute to the quiet legacy my mother created through her cooking, one Sunday lunch at a time.
A Spinach by Any Other Name
When we first arrived in Australia, what is now widely known as “English spinach” wasn’t readily available.
It only became commercially accessible much later. At the time, what was commonly referred to as spinach in markets was often silverbeet or beet greens (blede in Italian), typically found at quality greengrocers.
Blede, a type of Spinach.
Silverbeet, in particular, was a staple in many Australian backyard gardens. However, to use it for dishes like Omelet di Spinaci, we had to strip the tender green leaves completely from the fibrous white stalks—a process that felt like a terrible waste of good produce.
Silverbeet.
Rather than discard the stalks, we found creative ways to use them. Sometimes we cooked them separately, covering them with béchamel sauce and a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese before baking them in the oven. We would jokingly refer to this dish as cardi—a nod to cardoons, the artichoke’s lesser-known cousin, which it vaguely resembled in texture and taste.
Over time, the term spinach came to refer to various leafy greens in everyday language, adding to the confusion. This is why you’ll sometimes see different types of greens in photos or dishes all described simply as “spinach.”
Of course, during those early years in Australia, it was my job to help in the kitchen—preparing vegetables, stirring sauces, and learning my mother’s methods by heart. Perhaps that’s why my sister-in-law has asked me to make this dish again when I visit her in Adelaide. Omelet di Spinaci are a cherished specialty of northern Italy, and recreating them is not just about the ingredients—it’s about passing on a tradition, one carefully prepared crepe at a time.
English Spinach.
INGREDIENTS AND PROCESSES
Crepes
3 eggs, slightly beaten, 3/4 cup plain flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 cups milk.
Mix the batter and leave to rest for at least 1 hour.
Fry crepes in a little butter. Make them thin/add more milk if necessary.
The crepes can be left for about 2 hours, and filled later if necessary.
Filling
English spinach, (I use 2 bunches for 6 people), 500g ricotta (drained),
50 g grated parmesan, ½tsp. nutmeg, salt. Some people put 1 egg in the
filling. Could be useful if you think that the mixture may be too sloppy.
Place the spinach in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, covered, squeeze out any excess moisture from the spinach. Coarsely chop and sauté the spinach in butter. Add nutmeg, and over medium heat stir occasionally for a few minutes until the spinach is flavoured. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for about 10mins. Add the drained ricotta and parmesan and combine (egg is optional). Season with salt and pepper.
Sugo
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
400g beef mince or cut into small chunks (fat trimmed)
400gveal mince or cut into small chunks (fat trimmed)
1 onion, sliced finely
700g passata or crushed tomatoes
basil, oregano,
salt and pepper
Heat oil in a large saucepan and soften the onion. Cook the meat until lightly browned.
Add passata/tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring now and again for about an hour medium-low heat. Remove the lid half way through cooking and evaporate some of the liquid.
To assemble
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place 1 crepe on a clean work surface.
Fill with spinach mixture down the centre of the crepe. Roll up firmly to enclose filling.
Place the crepes side by side in a large ovenproof baking dish.
Spoon the sugo over the crepes and sprinkle with more grated parmesan.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese melts and crepes are heated through.
This cassata was prepared for a celebration. I was particularly pleased that my friend followed the cassata and marzipan fruit recipes on my blog (links below).
She got in touch and sent me some photos—it was her New Year’s Eve cake!
Doesn’t the cassata and the fruit look absolutely wonderful?
Hand-made marzipan fruit.
SHE writes: Your recipe works a treat and it is a great celebratory dessert. Everyone on New Year’s Eve thought it was very special!
Some even ate the marzipan fruit!
With more time I would have created a fancy edging with small leaf shapes. Your sponge recipe was most successful! The cake was delicious and I was generous with Cointreau. Everybody was delighted with the cassata – it was the highlight of the meal.
I followed your recipe closely but added more couverture choc (which isn’t so sweet) and glace orange and citron to the ricotta. The glace orange doesn’t have the intense flavour of candied orange peel so you need a bit more of that. I would be inclined to bump up the use of Cointreau next time to make the sponge even moister and to bring out the lovely orange liqueur flavour even more.
Could you also try adding honey to replace some of the sugar in the ricotta mix? It could make the ricotta a little moister too but wouldn’t make it too sloppy as it is stored in the fridge (the honey becomes more viscous when cooled). It has stored well in the fridge (hasn’t gone weepy at all). We had some for morning tea today with friends and it was greatly enjoyed.
Cassata cut.
MY reply:
Honey would alter the flavour and although this is not considered “traditional”or “authentic’.
But authenticity has very little to offer us in terms of practicality, individual tastes or even updates to what we know now about healthy food.
I am very well aware that you have bee hives in your back garden andI know how tasty your honey is. So why not?? just don’t invite any Sicilians around when you eat the Cassata.
I grew up in Trieste.
Trieste is in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. It is close to Venice, but it is also close to the Slovenian border. In 177 BC Trieste was under the control of Roman Empire. As well as Italy, Trieste also once belonged to Austria and then Austria-Hungary for more than 500 years and much of the cooking of Trieste reflects these cultures.
One of the culinary specialties of Trieste is strucolo de pomi (in Triestine dialect). It is a popular autumn and winter sweet.
When my family came to Australia the pastry shops in Adelaide were not to our tastes (lamingtons, sponge cakes with raspberry jam and in most cases, mock cream). My mother felt it necessary to teach herself how to bake, something that she never did when we were living in Trieste; as is the common European way, we left the baking to the specialists and we bought all of our pastries and cakes, especially when we had guests.
For our first Christmas Eve celebration in Australia my mother and my aunty made a strudel together and making strucolo de pomi became our celebratory dessert for any occasion. Later my mother began making Zuppa Inglese, this too became a perfect celebratory dessert especially for Christmas.
My only aunt living in Australia is zia Licia. She married my mother’s brother. Her maiden name was Ursich, which may not sound Italian, but like many of the people living in Trieste, she had a Slavic name.
When we first came to Australia our families lived next door to one another and they often cooked and ate together.
INGREDIENTS
Strudel dough:
plain flour, 250 g
salt, 1/4 teaspoon
sugar, 2 tablespoons
egg yolk, 1
warm water, 115 ml, plus more if needed,
vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons, plus additional for coating the dough
Filling:
apples, 1k – we used delicious apples (golden or red) but other people prefer more acidic varieties, e.g. granny smiths
sugar, 3/4 cup
sultanas, 3/4 cup
walnuts, (or pine nuts) 3/4 cup
ground cinnamon, 1teaspoon
lemon, 1 (juice and grated peel)
butter (unsalted), 70g
bread crumbs, 50g
PROCESSES
Mix the flour, sugar and salt together and then slowly add the water, egg yolk and oil to the dry ingredients and knead into a medium-firm dough. We always made any dough on our kitchen laminax table (these were great for mixing and rolling out pasta and pastry), however an electric mixer can be used.
For this option:
Combine the flour and salt in a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix the water, egg yolk and oil and add this to the flour on low speed. Knead it for about 10minutes until the pastry is soft and elastic. Even if I use the mixer, I like to finish this off with my hands so that I can feel when the pastry is right.
Shape the dough into a ball and throw it down hard onto the working surface a few times.
Spread a little oil on the surface of the dough, cover it with plastic wrap (a use a tea towel) and allow the dough to rest for a couple of hours.
While the pastry is resting prepare the filling:
Peel, core and slice apples. Mix in sugar, sultanas, nuts, grated lemon peel, lemon juice and cinnamon and toss together well.
Stir well until the sugar dissolves and the apples are coated with the mixture.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring constantly until lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Let cool.
Roll out the dough:
Cover your working area with tablecloth and dust it with flour (this will help you move the strudel to the baking tray once it has been shaped).
Place the ball of dough in the middle, sprinkle with flour and beginning rolling from the centre roll the dough out into a very thin rectangle,. The dough my be a little resistant at first but will relax more as you roll it. If the dough tears a little it can be patched with off cuts of pastry before you add the filling.
Assemble the strudel:
Spread the breadcrumbs bread evenly over the dough and leave a clean border on all sides.
Arrange the apple mixture evenly on top of the crumbs.
Shape the strudel: begin rolling the strudel into a fairly tight roll, starting at one end and gradually working down the roll. The finished roll should look fairly even in circumference.
Use the table cloth to transfer the strudel and place strudel on a buttered baking tray (I line it with baking paper).
Brush it either with melted butter or oil, or egg yolk mixed with a little oil.
Bake strudel for 60 to 80 minutes in a 180 C oven.
We soaked the sultanas in rum beforehand. Small pieces of dark chocolate mixed into the filling was also a variation.
One very flavourful way to cook potatoes as a contorno (a side dish, an accompaniment to any main dish) is the Caponata di patate (potato caponata). Caponata personifies Sicilian cuisine and as you’d expect, there are many regional variations of this recipe.
I first ate a Caponata di patate in Catania, hence the photos of Catania as an accompaniment to fish.
Fish Market in Catania
About caponata
There are other Sicilian caponate (plural of caponata) made with other vegetables, for example, caponata di carciofi (artichokes) caponata di verdura verde (green leafy vegetables) and caponata di patate (see recipe below). The principal and most common flavourings that characterise a Sicilian caponata remain the same: the celery, capers, green olives and the sweet and sour caramelised sauce made with vinegar and sugar (agro dolce).
Many recipes contain nuts – almonds or pine nuts or pistachio, used fresh in some recipes, in others they are toasted. Frequently herbs are added – sometimes basil, at other times oregano or mint. Certain recipes also include raisins or currants and some, fresh pears. Several include fish, singly or in combination of canned tuna, prawns, octopus, salted anchovies and bottarga.
To make caponata I always sauté (on high heat) my vegetables separately and then combine them at the end in the agro dolce (sweet and sour) sauce.
CAPONATA DI PATATE
(Potato caponata)
This caponata can be eaten hot or at room temperature. It also keeps well refrigerated for several days.
The potatoes in this caponata are fried until lightly golden. The ingredients commonly used to make caponata – onions, celery, olives, capers, tomatoes and the vinegar and sugar for the agro dolce – are cooked together separately. The potatoes are then added to the other cooked component.
I often pre cook the potatoes first before tossing them into the hot oil to fry. saves time and the potatoes result more crisp.
INGREDIENTS potatoes, 1.5 kg celery, 1 heart (the centre pale green stalks and some of the fine leaves) onion, 2, large, chopped capers, ½ cup, salted or in brine green olives, ¾ cup , stoned, chopped white vinegar, ¾ glass sugar, 3 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup (or more) salt and freshly ground pepper parsley, 1 cup, cut finely tomato passata, 1 cup
PROCESSES Peel and cube the potatoes and place onto a clean tea towel (or paper) to dry. Fry the potatoes in hot extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt – do not crowd the potatoes and if needed use a wide frypan or cook in batches. Turn occasionally until they are cooked and golden. Drain the potatoes and set aside. You can use this same oil to braise the vegetables (purists would use new oil). Heat the oil and add the onions and the celery. Stir frequently and cook over a moderate heat until the onion is golden and the celery has softened. Add seasoning and parsley. Add the tomatoes, capers and olives and toss the ingredients together for about 5 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar and increase the heat to high to evaporate some of the vinegar. Add the potatoes, cook for about 4-5 minutes to blend the flavours. Serve at room temperature.
VARIATIONS Add either chopped, toasted almonds or pistachio before serving (either on top or through the caponata) and scatter with fresh mint leaves.
The French seem to enjoy salade composée either as an entrée as a light meal. I know I am stereopyping and I hate it when others discuss food preferred by the Italians or the Sicilians, so I will begin again.
When I was in Paris in September and while in the South West of France I ate my way through many servings of salade composée. This refers to a salad in which an assortment of ingredients with a balance of colours, flavours and textures arranged aesthetically on a plate and drizzled with a tasty vinaigrette. It is likely to be composed of a variety of seasonal fresh and cooked vegetables and one or a combination of meats, fish, eggs, nuts or cheese.
In the history of French cuisine, I know that presenting salads is fairly recent, but everywhere I went there seemed to be salade composée.
I stayed with my partner and two friends in La Vieille Grange in Mercadiol (a small hamlet) in the South West of France. It is the same restored barn that Stephanie Alexander stayed (with Maggie Beer and Colin her husband) when she researched material for her book Cooking & Travelling in the South-West France.
The cooking of South West of France is rooted in historical tradition, seasonal produce and nothing is wasted. Apart from a good selection of salad leaves there were other vegetables: potatoes and tiny green beans. Some had cured pork products as well, and of course many had walnuts. So important was the vinaigrette, perhaps made with a combination of walnut oil, olive oil and wine vinegar.
In that location of France I sampled much of the local food and there were plenty of duck’s gizzards, but these were often mixed with other duck meat: pan-fried breasts, smoked or air dried breasts, stuffed necks, confit, terrines, fois products and whole livers. Pan-fried duck livers are so good when cooked properly. (I soak the whole, cleaned livers in milk for about four hours before frying them in a little duck fat, then deglaze them with a little Armagnac, wine or vinegar and then add them and any caremelised juices from the pan to the vinaigrette).
I was very fortunate to attend a class at Le Cordon Bleu Academie D’Art Culinaire in Paris and even there, Le Chef cooked Salade de Pigeon Landase, vinaigrette de son jus as an entrée. The main component was squab breast cooked rare in goose fat. The rest of the squab was braised with shallots, carrots and bouquet garni and then drained. The meat was presented on lambs lettuce, watercress, raw mushrooms and toasted pine nuts. The vinaigrette was the squab jus mixed with red wine vinegar, hazelnut oil and a little mustard. We were presented with what Le Chef cooked, and it was superb.
I always add seasonal vegetables to my salade composée. Because it is spring, I add vegetables such as broad beans, asparagus, peas, zucchini. I also add fresh herbs and a mixture of leaves, sweet, bitter and pungent (eg watercress, rocket, lambs lettuce).
Eating a salad (such as a salade composée) at the start to a meal would be very unusual in Sicily, but they may eat a caponata on its own accompanied by some very good bread.
When I was in Palermo last September there were bunches of tenerumi on sale at the markets – these are the stems, leaves and tendrils of those long, twisted green zucche (squashes) that grow in Sicily and Calabria. The long serpent like squashes are called zucche serpente and you can guess why.
Those of you who have travelled to Sicily in summer may have seen these very unusual vegetables and perhaps not known what they were. Both the squash and the greens are eaten and are considered rinfrescanti (cooling and refreshing for the body). The zucca (singular) and the greens are a Sicilian summertime specialty and I have not seen this type of squash growing in Australia yet.
The greens are usually made into a wet pasta dish and, unfortunately, it is not a dish you will find in a Sicilian restaurant. It is a typical, home-cooked, soupy dish with the flavours of summer: red summer tomatoes, garlic, basil, thickened with broken spaghetti and enhanced with a drizzle of good, extra virgin olive oil.
I first ate this soup in Augusta and it was cooked by one of my cousins, Lidia. In her version, Lidia used both the zucca and the greens. My relatives in Ragusa do not cook minestra di tenerumi very often – it is considered to be a dish typical of the regions of Palermo and Catania. (My mother’s side of the family originally came from Catania).
I was very pleased to eat minestra di tenerumi again recently when I visited a friend’s home in Bosco Falconeria, close to Castellammare (on the north coast, west of Palermo). I appreciated this simple, flavoursome dish for many reasons. Firstly, it was all produce picked fresh from Mary’ Taylor Simeti’s own garden. This included the olives used to make the fragrant, extra virgin olive oil and the organic wine we drank made by her husband, Tonino. Photo above is the soup and how Mary presented.
Mary Taylor Simeti is one of my heroes – I think that sometimes it takes a “foreigner ‘ with a passion to rediscover and tease out the history behind the food ( not that she is a foreigner, she is part of Sicily, having dedicated so many years to writing about it in numerous books and articles).
Secondly, I was very pleased to be presented with such a simple dish. In my normal diet I eat a lot of vegetables and when I travel and eat in restaurants and trattorie, I crave freshly cooked vegetables – I can’t wait to get back to friends and relatives. Besides, these are not the typical vegetables or cooking found in Sicilian eateries and Mary, our host, knew that some of us who had been invited to eat at her table would never have eaten this. We all loved it. Mary presented this simple dish with small cubes of caciocavallo – a special DOP Sicilian cheese (cascavaddu in Sicilian) produced mainly in the province of Ragusa.
I once used the very young shoots of the zucchini plants (complete with the flowers and young zucchini) to make this soup – different, but nevertheless, rinfrescante and a celebration of summer.
Although we may not be able to buy tenerumi in Australia at this stage, we may not have long to wait.
I was fascinated to see one of the episodes of Sean Connelly’s Family Feast on SBS. It featured the food of a family of Africans from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are living in the Western suburbs of Sydney and are growing African leaf vegetables; on the program the family were harvesting and eating tendrils very like tenerumi. These tendrils were the shoots from a different type of squash plant, but would probably taste very similar to the Sicilian variety.
As in all Sicilian food, there are local variations. Some substitute the garlic with finely chopped fresh onion, others add anchovies, but personally, if it is to be rinfrescante – refreshing, anchovies are not suitable. Here is a recipe which suits my tastes for making minestra di tenerumi (excuse me Mary if this is different to your recipe).
The wet pasta dish is cooked very quickly. The zucca (squash) is not always added in some versions of the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
tenerumi, equivalent to a large bunch, 500g
garlic cloves , 3-4 chopped finely
ripe tomatoes , 300g seeded and cut into dice (I think Mary used cherry tomatoes)
fresh basil leaves , torn, about 15
spaghetti , broken into small pieces, 200g
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
hot chilli (optional)
grated pecorino cheese (optional)
PROCESSES
Prepare the shoots and tendrils, discard the tough stems, separate into small bits.
Add the tenerumi to the boiling, salted water and bring to the boil again (estimate 3 cups of water per person).
Add the pasta and cook.
While the pasta is cooking, toss the tomatoes into a hot frying pan with about 3 tablespoons of the oil, add garlic and chilli, salt and some of the basil and heat through for a few minutes.
When the pasta is cooked, check that you have the correct consistency – it should be like a very thick soup and you may need to drain some of the liquid.
Add the warm tomato mixture and more basil.
Drizzle with your best extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Cheese is optional. I prefer it without and appreciate the fresh taste of the dish.
