Sicily « Radicchioblog

Sicilian flavors: Caponata at Cacio e Vino

August 31, 2010

Several Italian news and travel web sites (www.siciliaonline.it and www.myluxury.com to name a couple) are reporting that Sicily has defeated Sardinia as the favorite summer destination of local and, mostly, international stars. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Elton John, Giorgio Armani, Sting and many more prefer the still uncompromising beauty of this island to the pretentiousness of a natural paradise that has been turned into a sort of circus by the wannabes. A round trip ticked to Palermo, this time of the year, starts at $523 on Meridiana (available only until mid September) but if you are like me, meaning you don’t have much time off so going all the way to Italy is practically impossible, you’d be happy to know that Sicily can be “tasted” in the East Village. At Cacio & Vino to be exact.

The menu is a never ending (but in a good way) and features some of the most traditional and flavorful Sicilian dishes (including Sarde a beccafico con cipollata,
baked Mediterranean sardines stuffed with bread crumbs, pine nuts, raisins, orange zest, sweet and sour onions; Involtini di melanzane, stuffed rolls of eggplant with pine nuts, raisins, basil, pecorino cheese, tomato sauce; Spaghetti con pesto trapanese, homemade spaghetti, fresh tomato, basil, garlic and almond pesto; Gnocchi di fico e primosale, potato and fig gnocchi in a Sicilian cheese fondue sauce and Pesce spada all’agrodolce,
pan-seared swordfish in sweet and sour sauce with olives and onions and vegetable ratatouille.
Every time I go I am undecided on what to order as everything looks, and tastes so good, but one thing I know for sure is that I will order Caponata (as a cold appetizer). At Cacio e Vino caponata consists of Sicilian style sweet and sour eggplant, celery, olives, onions, served with chick pea fritters and goat cheese. Bursting with color and flavor, it is blend of eggplants and tomatoes, balanced with green olives, capers, celery, sugar and vinegar for its characteristic sweet and sour taste. Caponata can be served cold or at room temperature and it should be prepared a day in advance so the flavors will have time to blend and settle. It can be served with pasta, rice, or omelets but the more traditional way is to serve it as an appetizer with crackers or accompanied by fresh crusty Italian bread or, in the case of Cacio e Vino, with freshly baked pizza dough cut into small slices.
Enjoying it with a glass of wine while waiting for the next dish to arrive is absolute bliss.

- Natasha Lardera

1 Comment | Dining, Restaurants, Sicily, Vegetables | Tagged: Italian cuisine, Italian Regions, Sicily | Permalink
Posted by radicchioblog

Pecorino cheese – A Versatile Ingredient For Summer

June 14, 2010

Summer begins on June 21 but we are already in the throws of seasonal summer produce which can be eaten on its own or blended with cheeses and used in pasta. One of the great cheeses that work well with all of this summer produce is Pecorino.

It comes from sheep’s milk and is made in a host of regions in Italy including Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Lazio. The cheese tastes slightly different in the various regions. Pecorino can be made into a fresh style cheese or into an aged or “stagionato” one. Sometimes peppercorns or truffles are added to the cheese to enhance the flavor. Pecorino can be a flavorful cheese or can be somewhat mild, it depends on the aging and the style of cheese you are buying.

Pecorino Romano is the most ubiquitous in the United States. It is quite salty. Much of the Pecorino that is made in Tuscany is made by Sardinians who emigrated there.

Pecorino can be used in salads, eaten on its own at the end of a meal, eaten with pears or used instead of Parmigiano on pasta. Pecorino is an extremely versatile cheese and a good one to keep in the refrigerator at all times.

By Susannah Gold

Leave a Comment » | Cheeses, Cooking, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany | Tagged: aged cheese, grated cheese, Italian Cheese, Lazio, Pasta, pecorino, Sardinia, Sicily, Summer produce, Tuscany | Permalink
Posted by radicchioblog

Italian Capers From Pantelleria, What Makes Them So Special?

February 19, 2010

Capers are small green fruits that grow on bushes in the Mediterranean. They are particularly prevalent in Italian cooking in the South and can be used as a condiment or for seasoning. They are quite salty in general and the version from Pantelleria, an island off the coast of Sicily, are particularly salty. Capers tend to grow on rocky coasts.

Capers or Capperi. as they are called in Italian, have a very flavorful aroma. The ones from Pantelleria are a designated product, or an IGP which means Indicazione Geografica Protetta. This special designation is given to products from Italy that are characteristic of the location where they grow. The Capperi from Pantelleria must be conserved under sea salt. Before using them, the salt is usually washed off.

Capers are used in a host of Italian specialities from Neapolitan and Sicilian Pizza to puttanesca sauce and even alone with a bit of oil on pasta. Italy is a nation of “navigatori e marinai” or sailors and every sailboat crew knows to bring capers along for an emergency meal with pasta. Capers are also used with fish and on Pantelleria, they are fried in a dish with potatoes, put into salads and made into a special pasta sauce.

Capers are said to have good nutritional value. They are very low in Cholesterol and are a good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin E, Niacin, Calcium and Manganese, and a very good source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Copper. However, they are high in sodium. That said, they are also known to be an aphrodisiac.

Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Fruits, Ingredients, Sicily | Tagged: Capers, Cappero di Pantelleria IGP, Sicily | Permalink
Posted by radicchioblog

How Does Italian Salt Compare to Other Salts? Favorably it Seems

August 4, 2009

Italian sea salts are all the rage it seems. Where you could once only find French salt or Kosher salts, Italian sea salt has claimed a place at the table and it’s about time.

Italians have been producing salt since the 1100s just outside of the town of Trapani in Sicily. Sea salt, an ancient product, can be a huge asset in the kitchen because of its potential to emphasize flavors. At one time, salt was used as currency.

There are essentially three types of salt: sea salt, rock salt and that which comes from underground mines or spring water salts. The most prestigious salts are generally the sea salts because they are the most pure and retain many of their nutrients.

Trapani is the home of the Italian salt trade today. The marine salts are made through the evaporation process whereby ocean water goes into large ponds. The salt then evaporates leaving behind the salt crystals without sacrificing the minerals that salt contains and which are fundamental for our bodies.

The evaporation and the drying of the crystals is possible because of the heavy winds blowing in this part of Sicily. These minerals include Iodine, Fluorine, Magnesium and Potassium. Sicilian salt is also very low in sodium.

Idoine in the salt is said to be good for those with Thyroid problems, for example. Apparently salt is also a hedge against some mental defects.

In other marine salts, these minerals are sometimes missing and fine table salt has none of these helpful health benefits. Marine salts and fine salt usually undergo a specific process in order to separate out the chalk in the salt. This does not happen in Italian salt.

The salt works run from Trapani to Marsala on the Eastern coast of Sicily. One very well known salt works, Sosalt, was founded in 1922. The area is quite beautiful to behold and in 1991, it was declared a natural reserve.

Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Herbs & Spices, Ingredients | Tagged: Sea salt, Sicily, Trapani | Permalink
Posted by radicchioblog