Mamma Carmela's special Sicilian pesto sauce - The video

This recipe is really unique. It is called Sicilian pesto sauce but it's not the famous pesto trapanese (even if ingredients are very similar) and it is obviously not the renowned pesto genovese with basil. It is a pesto sauce created by Mamma Carmela, a lady who used to have a lovely little Trattoria in Palermo. Her husband and her run that place for more than 40 years. There they met actors, singers and thousands of tourists who went to taste her typical dishes.

Her Trattoria was renowned for the Sicilian dishes and the familiar way of cooking them, infact going there was like having lunch at home. Last year unfortunately after a gas explosion this restaurant was destroyed and Mamma Carmela with her family decided not to continue the activity with a new one, being already in advanced age.

Exclusively for the Sicilian Cuisine Blog her daughter Patrizia gave me the recipe of her famous special pesto and we also did a short video. This is the way I want to remember the lovely evenings spent at their trattoria. Thank you so much!

Ingredients & preparation for 4-6 people: 

6-7 big tomatoes - 2 cloves of garlic - fresh mint - fresh basil - 50 gr almonds - half of a dried red pepper - salt - sunflower oil or olive oil (about a glass). She used to put sunflower oil because "it was a bit lighter" - she said.

1. Wash the tomatoes, the basil and the mint.
2. Put all the ingredients together in the blender, just like shown in the video here on the right.

 
Now: if you want to eat it with pasta, just prepare it as usual, drain it and place it in a bowl, mixing the pesto with the pasta well, and serving straight away. 

If you want to use it for bruschettas, toast your sliced bread (better if the rustic type) and put the pesto on top of the toasted slices. 

It will be a scrumptious starter for your guests with such a strong character!

*Warning: This pesto is really strong, so careful because it is going to be hot and tasty! Just try and see for yourselves!

Thanks to Patrizia Laria for the video editing.

Fennel and orange salad, the ideal mix after a big meal

Do you know how to prepare fennel and orange salad? In my family we love to prepare this dish for big occasions, not only because it's light and tasty but also because in this way you don't have to think of preparing another course for fruits. 

Besides, fennel is widely known for its healthy properties: is very digestive, make increase energy and help to eliminate the excess of liquid in the body. 
Orange is sweet and juicy and this salad is always the perfect solution to finish a three or four courses meal or in general a big lunch, just before landing on the sweet sugary world of desserts.


For 6-8 people you will need:
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 3 oranges (better if the sweeter quality)
- olive oil
- salt
- olives at will


1. Cut the fennels in quarters, removing the hardest part on top and bottom. Soak them in water for about 15 minutes, then with a sharp knife cut them quite thinly.

2. Peel the oranges removing also the white pulp and the seeds, then cut them in small pieces.

3. Place both in a large bowl and dress the salad with olive oil and salt and add some green olives if you like. Better if you don't keep it in the fridge more than 2-3 hours. Serve fresh at the end of your meal and enjoy!!!

Marsala cream pudding with strawberries, a spring version of Tiramisù

Do you know how to prepare a Marsala cream pudding? I sometimes like to post recipes that are not necessary of the strict regional tradition (we obviously eat Italian dishes too!!!) but sometimes I do like to experiment introducing a Sicilian ingredient or product in a popular recipe.

This is the case of this kind of "Spring Tiramisù" as I like to call it, because has strawberries (and strawberry juice) instead of coffee and above all it has a delicious cream made of mascarpone cheese plus the unmistakable flavor of Sicilian Marsala wine.


Ingredients & preparation for 8 people:
- a classic sponge cake cut in four thin layers**
- fresh strawberries (3 small baskets)
- 3 eggs
- 10 ts of sugar
- 500 gr. mascarpone cheese
- 4-5 ts of Marsala wine (more if you like a stronger taste)
- cocoa powder


For the cream: 
1. In a large bowl mix the eggs with the sugar until they become homogeneous.

2. Add the mascarpone and the Marsala wine and mix well the ingredients together until the cream become light and fluffy, then place it in the fridge.


For the dessert:
1. Gently wash the strawberries. Remove the leaves on top and select the ones that are riper and squashier.
2. Blend these last ones with a 1/4 cup of water to make it less dense. You will use this juice with a kitchen brush to moisten the sponge.

3. Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces, but leave aside 2 or 3 strawberries for the final decoration. 

4. As soon as you finish with the strawberries, take a bowl or a deep plate with high rims and start making the tiramisù.

5. First put a thin layer of cream mix, then the first layer of sponge cake, then moisten with some strawberry juice, using a kitchen brush (because it cannot be too much), then 2-3 spoons full of cream to cover all the sponge surface and finally the pieces of fresh strawberries. Keep doing the same thing for the second layer and the third one.


6. Cover with the last layer of sponge, moistening again with the strawberry juice and finish all the cream. It has to be all covered in cream in the end. Sprinkle abundant cocoa on top and decorate as you like with 2 or 3 strawberries. Put in the fridge for at least one hour and serve cold. 


It is not a local dessert but it definetely has a lovely Sicilian flavor. I am sure you will go crazy for it!!!


**Sponge cake is very similar to our "Pan di Spagna" the basic recipe we use for many cakes and desserts in Sicily, the only difference is that we make it with starch instead of normal flour.

Marzipan sheep, the symbol of Easter in Sicily

Do you know what "Pecorelle di pasta reale" are? We call it sheep of marzipan, which is made of almond flour, and in our Christian culture they are the symbol of Easter in Sicily. In some parts of our island they fill the marzipan with a kind of preserve of nuts, especially pistaches, or citron marmelade, but you won't find it in Palermo, where we use plain marzipan.

Sheep, in particular lambs, represent the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that during the Holy Week suffers and dies for Mankind and then, after 3 days, rises again on Easter sunday. 

We want to remember His sacrifice even at the table, with this little jewels of marzipan, made in proper molds or shapes of chalk, which are the result of faith and tradition.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

"Pasta ch' i sardi" one of the most famous Sicilian dishes in the world

Do you know how to prepare the famous Sicilian pasta with sardines? First of all let's specify that in Sicily we learn that the period for fishing and eating sardines is during the months that have a "R letter". (In Italian are February, March, April, September, October, November, December).

Said that you should know that the main ingredients of this dish are: sardines and wild fennel. As I always write about very traditional dishes it's very common to find different versions of the same dish, depending on which province of Sicily you are from, but also on the individual family tradition.

On the whole, I would say that there are two main recipes for this pasta: the red one and the white one. What does it mean? It means the version with the tomato paste and the version with saffron instead.

Ingredients & preparation for 4 people: 

- 400 gr. bucatini (long and thick shaped pasta like in the pic above)

- 250 gr. fresh sardines

- 400 gr. wild fennel

- 5 anchovy fillets

- 30 gr. sultanas

- 30 gr. pine nuts

- olive oil

- a small onion thinly chopped

- salt

- 6 ts of breadcrumbs

- 20 gr. saffron powder (for the white/yellow version)

- tomato puree or concentrated tomato extract (for the red version)

1. Wash sardines well under running water. Then wash also fennel and boil it in a large pot with salted water. Once it is cooked, drain it but do not eliminate the water. On a cutting board chop the fennel thinly and leave it aside.

2. In a sauce pan put a drizzle of olive oil on a medium heat, add the chopped onion and let it brown for a couple of minutes.
Add the anchovy fillets cutting it in small pieces using a wooden scoop or spatula just like in the pic on the right. They have to melt and become a paste.

3. Then put sultanas and pine nuts mixing all together.

4. Take half the quantity of the sardines, (leaving out the ones that are not broken that will be used after) and mix them in the sauce in small pieces too.

5. At this point add the saffron if you are doing the white/yellow version, or add some tomato puree if you prefer the red one (pic on the left). It's important to melt the concentrated tomato that has to become again a sort of paste. You can put a bit of fennel water to help melt the tomato puree.

6. Finally put the chopped fennel in the pan, together with a dipper full of the water in which has cooked. Mix well and place on top of the fennel the remaining sardines that should all be in one-pieces.

7. Let cook the sauce with a lit for about 10-15 minutes on a low heat. (Picture below)




8. In the meantime cook the pasta (bucatini or ziti) in the remaining fennel water as usual and drain it. If the water is not enough for all the pasta add some more water but remember to check the pasta on salt before draining it.

9. While pasta is cooking, in a small frying pan on a medium heat prepare the breadcrumbs with a drizzle of olive oil and stir the two ingredients until they become homogeneous and kind of dark brown in color (but not burnt).

10. Now you can either place it on a serving dish covering it with all the condiment and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and eat it as it is or doing the same process but placing it on a oven tray and bake it for about 10 minutes at a temperature of 200° C. Serve hot.

Close your eyes for a second and enjoy the great Sicilian taste, the earth and the sea forever bond!

Colourful bell peppers in sweet and sour sauce

Do you know how to prepare peppers in sweet and sour sauce? As you already may know, the sweet and sour sauce is very common in Sicily. Its origin goes back to Middle Age, when the Saracens brought it into the Sicilian cuisine, and it stayed here ever since.

Ingredients & preparation for about 4 people:

- 1 green pepper 

- 1 red pepper 

- 1 yellow peppers
- 1 small onion

- olive oil

- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 

- 1/3 cup sugar 

- salt

1. Wash the peppers under running water. With a sharp knife cut them in half and remove all the seeds and the core, then cut in strips like the ones in the picture above. Clean and chop the onion thinly.

2. Put a frying pan on a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and the onion. Leave it cook for about 5 min.
3. Add the peppers' strips and let them cook until become slightly golden, turning them every 5 minutes.
4. Once cooked, pour the vinegar and add the sugar. Stir well using a fork or a spoon, finally add some salt.
5. Leave the peppers into the sauce for 5 more minutes so that they become tasty enough, then remove from heat and place on a serving dish. This side dish can be eaten either warm or hot. Enjoy!

Brociolone or falsomagro: the Sicilian meat roll for important occasions

Do you know how to cook the traditional Sicilian brociolone? This is an extraordinary dish that Sicilians prepare for important events or festivities because it takes a bit of time, but it's very delicious. We also called it in Sicilian "falsu magru", literally meaning "false slim" (ital. falsomagro).

In ancient times probably meat was not particularly nice and tender so the Chefs of Nobles, the famous Monsù, created new fillings to stuff the meat. Every Sicilian family puts a different stuffing inside, because nowadays everyone has its own version. My favourite, which is one of the most traditional, is the one with omelette, caciocavallo, breadbrumbs and salame. It is not only very tasty but it is beautiful to see as well! 

To prepare this dish you will need:

- a big slice of beaten beef (about 800 gr & it must have the thickness of half of a cm)

- 150 gr of thin sliced salami

- 60 gr grated caciocavallo cheese

- 100 gr provola or fresh caciocavallo cheese in small cubes

- 3 eggs

- 5-6 tablespoons of breadcrumbs

- 1 large onion

- 3/4 of a glass of red wine

- 1 glass of water
- olive oil 

- salt & pepper

Preparation:

1. Cut the onion in half and chop it. On a low heat put a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and half of the onion and the spoons of breadcrumbs. Adjust with salt and pepper.
2. Remove from heat, let the mix cool down and add the cheeses (both grated and in cubes).
3. With the 3 eggs make an omelette, but careful because it has to be very thin and a bit smaller than the size of the beef, otherwise it will come out of the meat.

4. Take the beef and oil it inside, than put the ingredients in the order that you prefer, for example:  the thin slices of salami, then the omelette and finally the mix of breadcrumbs. You have to cover all the space making three different layers of stuffing.

5. Roll it out very carefully and make sure that the filling do not fall from the sides, then using a kitchen string tie the roll very well and firmly.

6. Now it's time to brown the meat roll in the appropriate pan. Again put some oil, the other half chopped onion, salt & pepper on a minimum heat. Put the roll inside the pan and let it cooked well, turning it every 4-5 minutes. 

7. When the beef has become finally brown add just less than a full glass of red wine and let it evaporate completely. Then add a full glass of water and cover the pan with the lit. 

8. Let it cooked for another half an hour, checking every 10 minutes and turning the meat so that it can cook on every side. After 30 minutes ckeck the cooking point sticking a fork inside the roll, if it comes out easily means that the beef is also cooked on the inside, otherwise leave it for another 10 minutes and check again later.

9. As soon as it is cooked remove it from the pan and once it has cooled down cut the roll in slices, thick not more than 1cm. 

10. Place it on an oval serving dish or a tray and put the sauce that has remained in the pan, on top of the slices. If the sauce is too dense or concentrated add a little bit of hot water and mix with the fork. Then cover the roll slices with this delicious sauce and serve hot! 

This dish is perfect on Easter day, which is so close now. You will definetely enjoy it!