Cucina DiBella

Sicilian Eggplant

No, nobody has hacked my account; I'm actually writing NEW content! Just don't get too comfortable with the idea.  I make no guarantees that I won't fall off the face of the earth for a year again at any moment.

 

On to the good stuff!  Spring is back.  Which means all of the delicious fresh produce is just around the corner.  You know, once the spring snow storms stop.  I decided I wanted to make my blog comeback with food from my favorite region - Sicily.  That quickly led me to sifting through dozens of eggplant recipes.  I finally settled on this one for Sicilian Eggplant (descriptive name, I know).  The eggplant is fried and topped with a tomato based sauce.  Easy! Like a lot of Italian food, the key is great, fresh ingredients that speak for themselves.  Traditionally, the sauce used over the eggplant is a quick tomato sauce combining tomato paste and wine vinegar.  The kids and I were the first tasters, and none of us loved the sauce; the vinegar was too strong.  I tried another batch with regular marinara sauce which garnered a better reaction, but both of my kids (16 months and 4) and I opted for no sauce at all and just wanted the fried eggplant.  In a surprise turn of events, Ryan liked the traditional sauce the best.  With the vinegar in the sauce and the salt on the eggplant he said it tasted like a salt and vinegar chip.  So, use the traditional sauce recipe, use your favorite marinara sauce, or just eat the eggplant hot out of the frying pan while standing over the stove (guess which one I went with).

 

I'll be back soon with another recipe!  Or not. Who knows. I'm clearly not reliable.

Sicilian Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
Salt
Flour for dredging
Olive oil for frying
Marinara sauce OR traditional tomato sauce referenced above (recipe to follow)

Process:
      1.  Peel the eggplant and cut lengthwise into slices about 1/8 inch thick (I got about 10 slices out of one eggplant).

      2.  Place the eggplant slices on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt on both sides and let sit for about 1 hour to extract some of the liquid from the eggplant.

      3.  Dredge the eggplant lightly in flour, shaking off any excess.

      4.  Coat a frying pan with olive oil.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Fry the eggplant in batches until golden, about 2-3 minutes on each side.  When each batch is done, place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.

      5.  While hot, sprinkle with salt.  Eat as is or top with either marinara sauce or the following tomato and wine vinegar sauce.

 

Traditional sauce pairing for Sicilian Eggplant:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1.5 tablespoons water

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons wine vinegar

salt to taste

Process:

      1.  Thin the tomato paste out with the water.  Cook tomato paste over low heat for 1 minute.

      2.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.

      3.  Add the wine vinegar and mix to incorporate.  Let reduce over low heat for about 3 minutes.  If it seems to be getting too thick, add a little more water to thin it out.

      4.  Add salt to taste.  Serve over the eggplant.

 

 Ryan's rating of Sicilian Eggplant: 5 for either sauce option, 4 for the plain option (swap those for me and the kids)

1 - Awful. If you make this again I'll shove a fork in my eye.

2 - Meh. It's not my favorite, but I won't threaten self-harm if it shows up again.

3 - Good. I wouldn't feel forced to order a pizza behind your back.

4 - Great! I will fight you for the leftovers.

5 - Love it! Make it again tomorrow. Or immediately and I will bathe in it.

 

Cannoli

Stay tuned: As soon as I get my hands on some elusive cannoli tubes, which seem to only be available online, I will be doing a post on this quintessential Italian dessert from Sicily.  In the mean time, check out my upcoming posts on the final Italian region that I have to hit on, Sardegna.

March 10th Update: After breaking down and ordering cannoli tubes online, I found some in an amazing local store in Portland, Maine, allowing me to cancel my online order. This weekend I'll be giving the Cannoli a try, so stay tuned!

March 24th Update:

What can i say about Cannoli?  Delicious cream filled pastry shells enchanced with mini chocolate chips and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. The pastry is crunchy and delicate with a complexity of flavor from the coffee grounds, cocoa, and wine that are used in it.

In reality though, the filling is the star, not the pastry.  As I said, I put mini chocolate chips in my filling, but I've seen Cannoli with other additives such as pistachios or maraschino cherries.  Whatever you put in the cream though, it's essential to take your time and go through some extra steps to ensure the best possible filling.  Though most recipes leave these steps out, to get the best cream you really need to start the night before by draining the ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth to get rid of any excess liquid.  When I was ready to make my filling I went a step further and ran the ricotta through my food processor to ensure that it would become smooth and creamy.  These steps were essential and definitely shouldn't be skipped!  It's well worth the effort.  This was by far the most delicious dessert I've made for Cucina DiBella!

Cannoli

*Need to start the day before

Adapted from Italian Regional Cooking by Ada Boni, 1969

Ingredients:

For the filling

16 ounces ricotta cheese

1 cup confectioner's sugar plus extra for dusting

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips plus extra for dipping

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the dough

1 1/4 cups flour1 1/4 teaspoons cocoa

1 teaspoon espresso grounds

1 pinch salt

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup Marsala wine (or other red or white wine)

1 egg white

Vegetable oil for frying

Process:

1. Put the ricotta in cheesecloth and let drain over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, gently squeeze the ricotta in the cheesecloth to remove any remaining excess liquid.  Put the ricotta in a food processor or through a food mill and process until smooth and creamy.  Put the ricotta in a large bowl.
2. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the ricotta cheese, and stir well to combine.  Add the mini chocolate chips (add more or less than the recipe to your liking). 
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, espresso, salt and sugar.  Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Using your hands, work the butter into the dry ingredients.
4. Slowly add the wine, mixing the dough between additions.  The amount of wine that you need will vary depending on the kind of flour you use, etc.  Add enough wine so that you get a firm dough. Note: I used a red wine that I had on hand, and it did make the dough a maroonish color.  Don't worry, though, after frying they still looked and tasted great!
5. Knead the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticky.  If the dough is too wet or too dry, add flour or more wine respectively.
6. Roll the dough out very thinly (using my pasta roller on setting 2 worked perfectly for me).  Cut out circles that are 3 to 4 inches in diameter.  The top of a drinking glass worked perfectly for me.  Wrap each circle around a cannoli tube.  Brush some egg white on the seal and press gently to ensure it will not come apart when cooking.
7. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pot.  The oil should be about two inches deep.  Fry the cannoli, while on the cannoli tubes, two at a time (any more and you will lower the temperature of the oil) until they are golden and crisp - about 2 to 3 minutes.  They may form bubbles on the pastry as well  - if so, the oil may be getting too hot. 
8. Remove the cannoli from the oil and put on a paper towel to drain. Fry the rest of the cannoli. Let the cannoli cool before removing them from the tubes.  Once cool, they should slide off easily. If sticking to the tube, try twisting the pastry slightly to loosen.
9. Do not fill the cannoli until just before eating. Otherwise, the pastry will become soggy.  Using a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner cut off, pipe the filling into the cannoli.  If using chocolate chips or something else in your filling, be sure that those items will fit through the tip of your piping bag.  Once filled, dip the ends of the cannoli in more mini chocolate chips.  Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve!

Ryan's rating of Cannoli - 5. And I'm pretty sure he would bathe in this. He ate half the filling before we even fried the pastry!

Lemon Granita

In an area that gets as  hot as Sicily in the summer, you need to have a refreshing recipe like Lemon Granita on standby.  This dish is basically a kind of Italian ice.  While I made mine with lemon, you can make it with anything from peach to strawberry to champagne to espresso.  Light and cool, this dessert is perfect for the summer.  I plated mine by actually putting the Granita in a hollowed out lemon, but if you don't want to do that, or are making a different flavor, you can always just put it in a bowl, parfait glass, or other dish of your choice!

   

Lemon Granita

Recipe adapted from Group Recipes. Plating from Wolfgang Puck.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2/3 cup sugar

4 jumbo lemons

Optional: Raspberries for garnish

Process:

1. In a bowl, mix the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Cut off the top quarter of each lemon.  Cut a little off the bottom of each, just so that it can stand upright. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Use a grapefruit knife to remove the inside of the lemons.  Squeeze the pulp to retain the juice. (If you would rather serve this in a parfait glass or martini glass, etc., just squeeze the juice out of the lemons like normal.)
3. Add the lemon juice to the water and sugar mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a glass or metal baking dish.  Put in the freezer.
5. Every 30 minutes, take the granita and scrape it with a fork to break up the ice.  Do this for about 2 to 3 hours, or until the granita is frozen solid. 
6. Scoop the granita into your lemon bowls, or into a glass if desired.  Garnish with raspberries.

Ryan's rating of Lemon Granita - 5.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is a dish that I chose to include in the Sicily section of Cucina DiBella not because it's a traditional dish in Sicily, but because it could not be made without the amazing wine that is produced in the Marsala region of Sicily.  Tucked into the northwestern coast of Sicily, Marsala is best known for its wine production. However, it is also a gorgeous coastal city with much to offer. The island of Mozia, located slightly north of Marsala, is a true testament to the history of Sicily.  Here, you can see the remnants of ancient Pheonician settlements in the ruins that have been preserved and in the museum on the island.  At the same time you can see grapes being harvested and experience a wine tasting on the island.

The ruins at Mozia

 
 Grapes being harvested at Mozia
 

 
 A wine tasting at Mozia
 

Sorry for the tangent...back to the Chicken Marsala.  Though there are other ingredients that you can substitute for Marsala wine in this dish to achieve something similar, it is impossible to really replicate the taste without using real Marsala wine. If that is hard to find in your area, you could substitute sherry or even just use dry white wine and chicken broth.  The dish won't be Chicken Marsala, but you can create something delicious nonetheless. The version of Chicken Marsala that I made uses wine, butter and chicken stock to create a delicious sauce.  However, you can also add a little heavy cream to the sauce if you wish to make it even creamier and more decadent.

Chicken Marsala

Adapted from The Italian Chef

-Serves 4-

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt

pepper

oregano

1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 ounces mushrooms

1/2 cup Marsala wine

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chicken broth

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Process:

1. Pound the chicken out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
2. Put the flour on a plate.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, just until the chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and put on a plate. Cover to keep warm.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan.  Cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 4 minutes.
5. Add the Marsala wine to the pan.  Scrape the bottom of the pan to release all of the brown bits - this is where much of the flavor is held.
6. Add the butter, chicken broth, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper to the pan.  Simmer until the mixture is reduced by half.  This will take about 5 minutes.
7. Return the chicken to the pan.  Simmer another 10 minutes.  Serve hot with pasta.

Ryan's rating of Chicken Marsala - 4.5.

Spadini

Spadini (alternate spelling: spiedini) is by far my favorite recipe from my great-grandmother.  It involves paper thin slices of beef which are rolled up with breadcrumbs, olive oil and onions, and made into kebabs.  The beef is so thin that it practically melts in your mouth.  No knives are required for this one. The filling in the beef of breadcrumbs and olive oil couldn't be more simple, and yet it has a strong, resounding flavor that sticks on your palette long after the meal is over. 

I have seen other versions of this recipe, with the biggest variance being in the filling.  Some variations call for a cheese mixture to be used as a filling.  In this variation, the beef itself is dredged in breadcrumbs, rather than using the breadcrumbs as a filling.  This does sound like an intriguing recipe, and I will likely try it sometime. However, I don't think anything could beat my Nonna's take on Spadini!

Spadini

Makes about 12 skewers, depending on how much meat you put on each one.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef brisket or roast beef

2 medium onions

olive oil

1 cup flavored bread crumbs

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Skewers (Note - if using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before putting them in the oven to prevent them from burning. You will note from the picture that I did NOT follow this step.)

Process:

1. Slice the beef into paper thin strips. Note - the beef is much easier to slice if you freeze it and then let it defrost just to the point of being able to cut through it.  Slices should be paper thin and about 1 inch wide by 2 or 3 inches long.
2. Finely chop one onion. Saute the onion in olive oil. 
3. Remove the onion from the heat and add the bread crumbs and grated cheese to the onion.  If needed add a little more olive oil just so that the bread crumbs are all lightly coated in the oil.
4. Cut the second onion into large pieces (about 1 inch by 1 inch).
5. Place some of the breadcrumb mixture on a slice of beef and roll up tightly.  Place on a skewer.  Do this with all of the slices of beef, alternating the beef on the skewers with the pieces of raw onion.
6. Put the skewers on a baking sheet and broil for about 3 minutes on each side.  Serve hot.

Ryan'sSue's rating of Spadini - 5.  Absolutely one of my favorites. Try it. Now. Seriously.

Penne alla Norma

While touring Sicily, I stumbled across this pasta dish, Penne alla Norma, at one of the restaurants that my friends and I ate at.  After speaking to our program coordinator, we found out that it is actually one of the classic pasta dishes from Sicily.  That's not to say you can't get it from other places around Italy.  I remember having a wonderful plate of it in San Benedetto del Tronto, which you may remember from my post on Brodetto.  My friends and I enjoyed this dish so much that when we returned to Ascoli Piceno, we spent some time in the kitchen replicating it.  Since then, it has become one of my favorite pasta dishes to make.

Penne alla Norma mixes pasta with a light tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, red pepper flakes, and some ricotta cheese.  When my friends and I replicated it, we actually used a product that we found in Italy that was close to cream, except for the fact that its state of matter was closer to a solid than a liquid.    Instead of the cream, I now use ricotta cheese, which is a more traditional ingredient for this dish.  It still creates a pinkish sauce, but also adds some texture.  I used ricotta from a tub since that's what I had on hand, but ricotta salata would be even better.  The red pepper flakes add a great kick, and really reminds you that this is a southern dish.

Penne alla Norma

-serves 6-8 people-

Ingredients:

1 pound penne

1 eggplant

salt

red pepper flakes

extra virgin olive oil

2 cups marinara sauce

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon basil

Process:

1. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes.  Place the cubes on a paper towel.  Sprinkle salt on the eggplant and cover with another paper towel.  Let the eggplant sit for about 15 minutes to extract some of the liquid in it.
2. Put the eggplant on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and olive oil.  Put the eggplant under the broiler for a few minutes, just until they begin to get a golden brown color.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the penne and cook as directed, about 8 minutes.  Remove pasta and drain.
4. Toss the pasta with the eggplant, marinara sauce, ricotta, basil, and another pinch of red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you would like it).

Ryan's Sue's rating of Penne alla Norma - 4.5.

Arancini - Rice Balls

When I think of Sicilian cooking, one of the first things that comes to my mind is Arancini.  Rice balls filled with meat and cheese and then fried, these are a classic example of Sicilian food.  When I studied in Italy in 2006, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Sicily for a week.  My family hails from Palermo and Cefalu, so this was a dream come true for me.  While I was visiting Palermo, I found tons of little restaurants selling arancini which they wrap for you so that you can enjoy your treat as you walk around the city without having to sit down and eat. 

One of the streets in Palermo

A lovely park in the middle of Palermo
 

This snack is also one of the dishes that my Nonna used to make.  While I didn't get the chance to get to know my great-grandmother, I'm fortunate enough to have some of her recipes that have stayed in my family.  That being said, I'm going to have to ask for some forgiveness from any of my relatives who may be reading.  I did the unthinkable: I changed Nonna's recipe.  While the bulk of it I left the same, I had to cut down on the amount of butter and salt in her original recipe.  Since it was done in the name of health, I hope you all understand. Most of the time arancini is made using risotto rice such as Arborio rice. Since Nonna's recipe called for regular white rice though, I stuck with that. Arancini also often has peas mixed in with the meat that goes in the center of the rice ball. Again, I stuck with Nonna and left these out, though I did add a little mozzarella to the center of the rice balls. As you can see from my picture, I got a little excited and cut into the arancini before giving it a minute to sit.  As a result, I squashed it a little when cutting it. The taste wasn't affected though - still delicious!

Arancini

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

1 beef bouillon cube

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons grated cheese (mozzarella or parmesan work nicely)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 pound ground beef

3-4 tablespoons marinara sauce

1/8 cup mozzarella cheese

cracker meal

3 beaten egg whites

bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Process:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Add the rice and bouillon cube to the water and cook until all the water has boiled away.
2. Once the rice is finished, add the egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of grated cheese, and butter or margarine.  Allow the rice to cool completely (you can stick the pot in the refrigerator if necessary).
3. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan.  Once brown, add the marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.
4. Once the rice is cool, place a large spoonful of it into the palm of your hand.  Form a well in the rice.  Place a teaspoon of the meat mixture in the well and then cover with more rice.  Press firmly to form a ball.
5. Dip the rice balls in cracker meal, then into the egg whites and finally into the bread crumbs.
6. Heat your oil over medium high heat. Fry the rice balls in the oil until golden brown.  Remove from the oil and put on a paper towel to drain.
7. Serve hot with extra marinara sauce.

Ryan'sSue's rating of Arancini - 5, but I guess I'm a little biased.

Caponata

Sicilia.  This is what I've been waiting for since August when I started this blog.  This is the region that my family is from, and it was in cooking my great-grandmother's recipes that I got the inspiration for even taking on this project.  Since Cucina DiBella's inception, I have been anticipating the week that I would be able to focus my attention on my favorite of all Italian foods and the recipes that mean the most to me. Now that it's here, a week seems like entirely too little time. So, I'm actually going to do two weeks of recipes from Sicilia because, well, I feel like it. It's going to be a mix between my Nonna's family recipes and recipes for dishes that I enjoyed while visiting Sicilia. 

I guess right off the bat I'm going to contradict myself, though. The first dish that I made from Sicily, Caponata, is neither something I ate in Sicilia, nor is it a recipe of my Nonna's.  However, it is something that always graced my family's table as a part of our antipasto course at Thanksgiving, so I say it counts. 

Caponata is a delicious appetizer made of eggplant.  It can be eaten on its own or on slices of toasted bread, hot, room temperature, or cold.  My personal favorite is to eat it over toasted bread at room temperature about a day after it was made so that the flavors really meld together.  Since it is really just cutting up vegetables and then letting them cook together, Caponata really is not a complex dish.  I've seen many recipes that add raisins or even a little sugar to give the dish a hint of sweetness.  I decided not to add the raisins, but did add in a red bell pepper. This dish is delicious, and in my opinion, much better than the store-bought version! 

Caponata

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 eggplants, about 1 1/2 pounds total

1 medium onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

toasted pine nuts

Process:

1. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes.  Place the cubes on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.  Pat the eggplant down with another paper towel.  Let the eggplant sit for about 15 minutes to pull some of the liquid out of them. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add the eggplant, onion, and garlic to the pot. Saute about 15 minutes.  Ignore the urge to add more olive oil if your eggplant absorbs the olive oil from the pot. 
4. Add the diced tomatoes, along with their juices, to the pot.  If some of the pieces of tomato are too large, cut them up.
5. Add the pepper, red wine vinegar, and capers to the pot. 
6. Cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Allow the mixture to simmer about 12 minutes, or until the eggplant and onion are tender, stirring occasionally.
7. Mix in the basil and add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Mix in the toasted pine nuts.
9. You can eat caponata hot, warm or cold.  The flavors are at their best when served at room temperature a day or so after making it.

Ryan'sSue's rating of Caponata - 5.