The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) | All Things Sicilian And More

PASTA CON LE SARDE, an iconic Sicilian recipe from Palermo and it was the dish I prepared as a cooking presentation for the Slow Fish Festival Melbourne – Save Our Seafood, held in Spotswood–Kingsville.

Pasta Con Le Sarde. The pasta is BICATINI.

Pasta con le Sarde at the Slow Fish Festival Melbourne

To everyone who attended this successful event, thank you for your interest and enthusiasm. As promised, here is an updated version of the recipe and some additional information about the ingredients that make this classic Sicilian pasta so distinctive.

Pasta con le Sarde is one of Sicily’s most celebrated seafood dishes. Originating in Palermo, it combines fresh sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts, currants, saffron and breadcrumbs in a harmonious balance of sweet and savoury flavours. It is a dish that reflects Sicily’s layered culinary history, shaped by Arab, Mediterranean and local traditions.

For those interested in the recipe itself, I have previously published two versions:

Pasta con le Sarde – the traditional Palermo-style version with wild fennel, pine nuts and currants.
Pasta con le Sarde al Forno – the baked version, a favourite for special occasions and family gatherings.

The Importance of Wild Fennel

Wild fennel (finocchietto selvatico) is one of the defining ingredients of Pasta con le Sarde. Its delicate aniseed flavour perfumes both the sauce and the cooking water used for the pasta.

In Sicily, wild fennel grows abundantly in the countryside and along roadsides during spring.

Traditionally, cooks harvest the tender shoots, boil them, and then use both the fennel and the aromatic cooking liquid in the preparation of the dish.

Packing wild fennel for the winter season – used to flavour the pasta water.

To preserve its flavour for use throughout the year, Sicilians often freeze the cooked fennel. or dry the seeds.

They also dry the seeds.

Extra flavour with sachet of fennel seeds. It can be removed when you also remove the boiled wild fennel.

Wild Fennel in Sicilian Markets

During the fennel season, bunches of freshly harvested wild fennel are sold in markets throughout Sicily.

wild fennel_0011 — Wild fennel sold in bunches at Catania Market.

Whether in Palermo, Catania or smaller country towns, the sight of market stalls overflowing with fennel is a reminder of the strong connection between Sicilian cooking and seasonal produce.

The fragrance alone is enough to evoke memories of traditional home cooking.

As promised, here is an update of the recipe Pasta con le Sarde I cooked at this event.

A Dish That Tells Sicily’s Story

Pasta con le Sarde is much more than a pasta dish. It reflects Sicily’s history and cultural influences.

The combination of sardines, wild fennel, currants and pine nuts illustrates the Arab contribution to Sicilian cuisine, while the use of fresh local seafood speaks of the island’s enduring relationship with the Mediterranean Sea.

Like many traditional dishes, it is a recipe that varies from family to family, yet remains unmistakably Sicilian.

Flavouring the pasta water and the boiled wild fennel.

From Pasta to Timballo

One of the pleasures of Pasta con le Sarde is that leftovers can be transformed into another classic Sicilian dish: timballo di pasta.

The pasta is layered or baked in a mould and served as a substantial second meal. In many Sicilian households, yesterday’s pasta often becomes today’s timballo.

Timballo, made with left over Pasta con Sarde

Pasta con le Sarde and The Leopard

During my presentation, I also referred to the famous Sicilian novel The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

The novel, later adapted into the acclaimed film The Leopard by Luchino Visconti, captures the elegance, complexity and changing social landscape of nineteenth-century Sicily.

Like Pasta con le Sarde itself, the story is deeply rooted in Sicilian identity and tradition.

SICILIAN PLATE -Alessi

You will need a plate to serve it and this is what I used.

It is an Alessi Plate ( not THE Alessi, the Sicilian Alessi) They use old stencils, colours and images from the past to decorate their plates. I bought this in the premier pottery town in Sicily – Caltagirone. It is located in central Sicily between Catania and Ragusa,

PASTA CON LE SARDE (Pasta with sardines, from Palermo, made with fennel, pine nuts and currants)

PASTA CON SARDE – the baked version, Palermo, Sicily

SICILIAN SEAFOOD COOKING

Recipe in Sicilian Seafood Cooking, Tim White from Books For Cooks (Melbourne) may have a couple of this book left for sale in his store.

Carne Aglassata is one of Sicily’s classic braised meat dishes. Cooked slowly with an abundance of onions, the onions gradually collapse into a rich, velvety sauce that reduces to coat the meat with a beautiful glossy glaze.

The name aglassata comes from the French word glacer (to glaze), a reminder of the French influence on Sicilian cooking. Once the sauce has reduced, it clings to the meat with a silky sheen, giving the dish both its appearance and its name.

Carne Aglassata – ox tongue slowly braised with onions until the sauce becomes rich, glossy and full of flavour.

A Dish from the Monsù Kitchens

Carne Aglassata is closely associated with Palermo and the refined cooking of the Monsù—from the French monsieur. These French and French-trained cooks worked in the households of Sicily’s aristocratic families during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Some Monsù were French; others came from Piedmont, a region heavily influenced by France at the time. They blended French culinary techniques with Sicilian ingredients, producing elaborate dishes that became an important part of Sicily’s gastronomic history. Many of these sumptuous meals are vividly described in Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, a novel that captures Sicily during the years of the Risorgimento.

Yet Carne Aglassata remains surprisingly simple at heart. Its success depends not on expensive ingredients but on two essentials—meat and plenty of onions—slowly transformed into something remarkably rich and satisfying.

My Father’s Version: Tongue Instead of Beef

Traditionally, Carne Aglassata is prepared with yearling beef, often girello (silverside or eye of round). My father’s version as made by his family in Ragusa, was often made with ox tongue (lingua).

I’ve never understood why he began cooking it only after our family migrated to Australia. While we lived in Sicily he rarely cooked, yet once we settled here, Sunday mornings often began with the gentle aroma of onions, herbs and tongue slowly simmering on the stove.

Lunch followed a familiar pattern. Most of the onion sauce was tossed through rigatoni or penne, while the sliced tongue was served afterwards as the main course, dressed with the remaining sauce. Occasionally he added peas during the final stage of cooking, and sometimes pieces of tongue found their way into the pasta as well.

It was a simple family meal, but one that remains among my strongest food memories.

Slow Cooking Makes the Difference

Traditionally the dish is cooked with lard, which gives the finished sauce its characteristic gloss. I now use mostly extra virgin olive oil, adding just a tablespoon of lard at the end to achieve the same silky finish.

Because ox tongue contains a fair amount of fat, I prefer to cook it a day ahead. After an overnight rest in the refrigerator, the solidified fat can be lifted away easily before reheating the sauce. I also trim away the thicker back section of the tongue, which is generally fattier.

The result is a lighter dish without sacrificing flavour.

Lard I keep in the fridge and I collect this after roasting pork.

INGREDIENTS

1 ox tongue
4 large onions, thinly sliced
1 glass dry white wine
2 sprigs rosemary
6–8 sage leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
About ½ cup extra virgin olive oil and lard combined (or use all olive oil if preferred)

Preparing the Tongue

Wash the tongue thoroughly, scrubbing it well with a vegetable or clean kitchen brush.

Place it in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the outer skin turns white.

Drain immediately and peel away the thick outer skin while the tongue is still hot. It should come away quite easily.

Method

Choose a saucepan that will comfortably hold the tongue without requiring excessive water.

Place the sliced onions in the pan with the olive oil, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper. Sit the peeled tongue on top and add just enough water to almost cover it.

Cover and cook gently over low heat for about 2 hours.

Add the white wine and continue cooking, covered, for a further 30 minutes, or until the tongue is very tender.

Refrigerate the saucepan overnight.

The next day, remove and discard the solidified fat. Lift out the tongue and set it aside.

Boil the onion sauce over medium-high heat until it thickens to a rich, glossy consistency. Stir in about 1 tablespoon of lard if using.

Slice the tongue and return it to the sauce just long enough to heat through.

The tongue has been sliced and covered with the onion sauce

Serve the onion sauce with pasta as a first course, followed by the sliced tongue as the main dish, or simply serve everything together.

Any leftover tongue is also excellent pressed and served cold.

Variations

Some Sicilian cooks add fresh peas during the final stages of cooking. Others include slices of tongue in the pasta sauce, making the first course even more substantial.

However you serve it, the true star of Carne Aglassata is the sweet, slow-cooked onion sauce that gives the dish its distinctive glaze.

Carne Aglassata is a classic Sicilian braise where ox tongue slowly cooks with onions until they become a rich, glossy sauce perfect for pasta and meat.

AGGLASSATO braised meat with a thick onion sauce

GELATINA DI MAIALE. Pork Brawn

Tag: The Leopard (Il Gattopardo)

PASTA CON LE SARDE, an iconic Sicilian recipe from Palermo. Cooked at Slow Food Festival Melbourne