Sicily: Recipes from an Italian Island
March 29, 2017 by Jenny
Sicily: Recipes from an Italian Island by Katie
and Giancarlo Caldesi is a visual feast of Sicily’s rich history
with absolutely stunning photographs as vibrant and fresh as the
food itself. Sicilian food has Italian as well as Greek, Spanish,
French, and Arab influences.
The beautiful people of Sicily, the artisans and landscape are
wonderfully portrayed in this title. This couple never disappoint
and yet, again, have written a book that any lover of Italian
cuisine must have. They whisk the reader away on their adventures
with their words and photographs and then gild the lily with
delicious recipes.
The Caldesi
collection of work is impressive and I own almost all of them.
The recipes turn out and present beautifully – that always seems to
be a given with Italian dishes, simple but refined, not overly
pretentious just fresh ingredients made perfectly. A sampling of
recipes that caught my attention are Cauliflower in Red Wine, Sweet
& Sour Aubergines with Toasted Almonds, a gorgeous Ricotta
Cake, Ravioli Stuffed with Ricotta & Lemon, and Orange &
Basil Risotto I have all the ingredients to make the
Cauliflower and Aubergines and I’ll report back with my results.
The Ricotta Cake will be on my Easter table and the Ravioli and
Risotto are slated for the next two Fridays (Lent for our family).
I’m excited to make these dishes and share photographs on this post
which will be updated.
Special thanks to Hardie Grant for sharing this beautiful Rice Timbale with our members. Please check out our contest page where we are giving away three copies of Sicily to our members in the US.
Rice timbale (TIMBALLO DI RISO)5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F / Gas 4). Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and the butter in a frying pan and fry the shallot until soft, then add the rice. Toast the rice for around 3 minutes – it will start to crackle – then add the wine. Allow the wine to evaporate and reduce for another 3 minutes, then add the tomato sauce and 600 ml (20 fl oz / 2 1/2 cups) of the stock. Stir through frequently, keeping the heat to medium, and add a little more stock as necessary until you have a firm, thick risotto, which should take around 20 minutes. Add 80 g (3 oz) of the Grana Padano and stir through. Season to taste and remove from the heat.
Cut the mozzarella into 1 cm (1/2 in) slices and put into a colander to drain. Sauté the spinach in the remaining oil flavoured with the garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Spread half of the tomatoey rice in the bottom of a 30 x 21 cm (12 x 8 1/4 in) ovenproof dish at least 5 cm (2 in) deep. Then add the spinach, followed by a layer of mozzarella and half of the Grana Padano. Follow this with the basil leaves, the remaining rice and top with the rest of the grana padano. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve straight away, while the cheese is still bubbling on top.
Cherry tomato sauce
I learnt to make this sauce from our Sicilian head chef Gregorio Piazza. He showed me how he leaves the stalks on the tomatoes during cooking as they add a wonderful grassy flavour to the sauce.
Buy tomatoes when they are really ripe, dark red and soft. In Sicily, tomatoes are available all year round but they are much better in the sunnier months. Taste them to make sure you are happy with the sweetness. Datterini are tiny plum tomatoes that are perfect for this. However, if you find your tomato sauce is not sweet enough add a little sugar to taste. This recipe can also be made with tinned cherry or San Marzano plum tomatoes, which contain little water.
This sauce has infinite uses and is used in several recipes in the book, from risotto to the timballo and more, and can be used in place of the sfincione sauce.
Makes approximately 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz)
1 carrot, roughly chopped
Fry the carrot, celery and onion in the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat for around 10 minutes or until soft. Add the tomatoes with a few of their stalks (if using fresh) to the pan with the basil and seasoning and cook over a medium heat with a lid on. Stir frequently, bashing the tomatoes with a potato masher to break them up. Bring to the boil, then remove the lid and reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for around 30-40 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary, adding a teaspoon of sugar if the tomatoes still taste acidic. Use the sauce as it is or remove the basil and stalks and use a stick blender to blend the sauce to a smooth, velvety consistency.
Recipe excerpted with permission from Sicily: Recipes from an Italian Island by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, published by Hardie Grant Books 2016,
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