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Flat
Garbanzo beans loaves - Panelle |
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Ingredients
for 8 servings
4 cups of garbanzo beans flour
seed oil
salt
water, 6 1/3 cups
optional: parsley, one bu.
minced |
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Panelle are
garbanzo beans flour croquettes and are a
popular specialty from
Palermo. They are sold in fried-food
shops scattered around the
city and they are eaten warm,
with a sprinkle of pepper and some
drops of lemon juice,
as a snack; or in typical loaves just removed
from the
oven in substitution of a meal. The Panellari often
spread
the cooked paste in rectangular wooden bars on which
floral
designs are engraved.
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Preparation
Sift the flour in a saucepan and slowly add 6 cups of water, mixing
with a wooden spoon, to avoid lumps.
As soon as the preparation is well mixed, salt to taste; set the
saucepan on a low flame and let the mixture thicken stirring in
the
same direction.
After about 30 minutes the mixture should detach from the saucepan;
add the minced parsley and turn the paste
upside down in a nn-sick
rectangular baking-pan, sprinkled with cold water. Flatten the
surface of the mixture and let it harden.
After
the mixture has cooled down completely and hardened enough,
turn it upside-down and slice thinly. Heat a lot of seed oil and
fry a
few the panelle, until golden; drain, set them on paper napkin
and serve warm.
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Rice balls with meat sauce
- Arancini di riso al ragù |
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Ingredients for
6 servings
4 cup of rice;
1 small bag of saffron;
3 tbsp of grated pecorino( or Parmesan) cheese;
5 eggs;
1 1/2 cup of dried breadcrumbs;
flour;
seed oil;
salt.
For the filling
1/2 pound of minced meat;
1 cup of shelled peas;
1 small onion;
1/2 stalk of celery;
1/2
carrot;
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil;
1 tbsp of butter;
dry white wine;
2 spoons of tomato
concentrate;
4 oz. of fresh caciocavallo or primosale;
seed oil; salt; pepper TT.
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Arancini are
one of Sicily's best-know deli specialties; they are popular in
the whole island and have various fillings.
Preparation
Put the oil, butter and minced onion, celery and carrot in a
saucepan. Before the herbs are golden, add the minced meat and
sautè
for
a few minutes; then, sprinkle with a little wine and allow
to evaporate. Add the peas and mix for a couple of minutes.
Stir in a cup of warm water, to which you will have added the
tomato concentrate. Add salt, pepper and simmer for 35-40
minutes.
Boil the rice in abundant salted water; strain it al dente and
season it with the saffron, dissolved in a little water , the
pecorino
(parmesan ch.) and 2 eggs.
Let the mixture cool down and put a spoonful in one hand. Squash
the rice, and make a shell you will
fill with a spoon of the
meat sauce and the diced cheese.
Close up with some more rice and shape it into a ball just a
little bigger
than an eggs. Cover slightly with flour; dip them
in the beaten eggs and then in the breadcrumbs and deep fry them
in abundant
hot seed oil.
Variation
Besides the minced meat and peas filling, arancinis can be prepared
with a butter, cheese, primo sale and cooked ham filling; with
a chicken sauce or with boiled spinaches and cheese.
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Dressed Olives - Olive Condite |
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Ingredients for
6 servings
1 pound of pickled green olives
3-4 cloves of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
parsley, one bu.
oregano
pepper, TT |
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They are the classical Sicilian
titbits easily found in delis or
in the popular market stalls,
stored inside " lemmi", typical
terracotta vases. |
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Preparation
Crush the olives with the pestle of the mortar, paying attention
not to shatter the pit.
Put them in a bowl and season them with
minced garlic and parsley,
a pinch of oregano and a mixture of oil, vinegar and pepper.
Mix with care and let flavour for some time,
before serving.
Variation
The seasoning can be enriched with pickled vegetables and celery
(stalks and leaves). Or with mint and capers as in Syracuse.
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Eggplant
or Aubergine caponata - Caponata
di melanzane |
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Ingredients for
6 servings
4 medium black eggplants,
1 stalk of celery with leaves,
3 oz. pitted green olives,
1 tbsp of
capers,
1 tbsp of pine seeds,
1/2 glass of extra virgin olive oil,
1 cup of tomato sauce,
1/2
glass of white vinegar,
1 tablespoon of sugar,
fresh basil, 1 bu.,
1 medium onion,
seed oi,
1
teaspoon of raisins (optional),
salt, pepper TT. |
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It is a widespread traditional summer
dish which must be served cold and can be kept in the refrigerator
for a few days. In glass
containers with airtight closing and
then sterilized this preparation can be stored for several months.
Preparation
Wash and dice the eggplants; sprinkle with salt and leave
for a couple fo hours in a colander to drain the excess water.
Dry carefully then deep fry in seed oil.
When golden, drain and put on kitchen paper towels. Husk and
chop the celery and sautè in
a frying pan with olive oil
and the sliced onion.
Before the sautè in golden add the tomato sauce, some
leaves of basil, the olives,
the capers, the pine seeds and,
if desired, the raisins (which will have been left in lukewarm
water and then squeezed). Add salt,
and pepper and simmer for
10 minutes at medium heat.
Pour over the vinegar and sugar ; mix and allow to evaporate
a little.
Combine eggplants and sauce and toss.
Chill the caponata and add toasted and chopped almonds(optional).
Variation
There are many variations of caponata among which are the addition
of small octopus (in Palermo); fish, and in different part
of
Sicily, a mixture of eggplants and peppers.
The caponata can also be prepared with artichokes.
Read some
insight into the early days of caponata by Ann Stutch, musician, world traveler,
and lover of Sicily.
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Eggplant Parmigiana - Melanzane alla
parmigiana |
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Ingredients for
6 servings
approximately 8 oz. per person
5 large eggplants,
1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce,
fresh basil, 1 bu.,
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive
oil,
1 medium onion,
4 oz. of grated Parmesan,
seed oil,
1/4 tbsp sugar,
salt, pepper TT. |
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Preparation
Fine dice onion and sautè in a saucepan with the olive oil;
add the tomato sauce , a handful of leaves of basil, a dash of
salt, a
dash of pepper and a pinch of sugar. Mix carefully and
simmer for about 15 minutes.
Wash the eggplants and cut the stems off; cut
into thick slices,
sprinkle with salt and drain in a colander to lose the excess water.
After a couple of hours, rinse, dry carefully and
deep fry in seed
oil.
Put some tomato sauce in a baking-pan and place a layer of eggplants,
well dripped, cover with tomato sauce,
sprinkle with grated parmesan
and snipper basil.
Top with sauce and sprinkle abundantly with grated cheese; cook
in warm oven for
about twenty minutes.
Variation
The Eggplant Parmigiana can be enriched with slices of boiled eggs
and primosale or mozzarella or other fresh cheese. In some
parts
of Sicily this dish is topped with a mixture of beaten eggs and
pecorino (Parmesan cheese) before baking.
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Eggplant Roulade - Involtini di melanzane |
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Ingredients for
4 servings
2 eggplants, 1 1/2 cup of dried breadcrumbs, 2 oz. of fillets of anchovy in oil, 4 tbsp of grated
parmesan (or pecorino), 1 cup of tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper TT |
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Preparation
Wash and slice the eggplants; sprinkle with salt and put in a colander
to drain the water in excess for about 1 hour.
In the
meantime, toast the breadcrumbs in a oiled non-stick pan,
and set aside in a bowl.
Smash the fillets of anchovy in little oil and add
them to the
breadcrumbs; add half of the grated cheese and mix well.
Fry the eggplants and cover each slice with the prepared
mixture.
Roll them up and put in a baking-pan; top with sauce and sprinkle
with the cheese left.
Cook au gratin in warm oven for
about ten minutes and serve.
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Peperonata - Peperonata |
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Ingredients for
4 servings
2 lb of peppers (green, red and yellow),
14 oz. of peeled tomatoes,
1/2 cup of extra virgin
olive oil,
1 onion,
fresh basil 1 bu.,
salt, pepper TT. |
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Preparation
Wash and dry the peppers; cut the footstalk off, cut them in half,
remove the seeds and cut into slices.
Finely slice the onion and
sautè in a saucepan; add the
peppers and cook for about ten minutes.
Add the tomatoes, seedless, and cut into fillets. Add the
basil,
a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper, cover and cook for another
45 minutes, stirring from time to time and adding a few
spoons
of warm water if the sauce reduced too much.
Variation
Just before the cooking is over add a little vinegar, slightly
sweetened. In this case, chill before serving.
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