Sea bass and king prawns al cartoccio with herbs and green pepper

Posted on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 under Food and Drink | Recipes

This morning, my fishmonger had a great surprise for me: extra fresh wild sea bass (In Italian spigola or branzino).

Finding wild sea bass and sea bream is not that easy, most people buy farmed fish which is definitely less expensive, but the taste of wild sea bass is just at a different level: a concentrate, intense, yet delicate, taste of the sea.

"Sapi ri mari" ( it tastes like the sea), my grandfather Giovanni always said when he was happy with the fish we had prepared for him. So perhaps, as he suggested, buy it once, but go for the top quality option.

Making cous-cous for a great summer salad

Posted on Monday 19th of July 2010 under Food and Drink | Recipes

Yesterday, ho "incocciato" cous-cous. "Incocciare" is the Sicilian word indicating the art of making cous-cous typical of North Africa and the Western part of Sicily.
It is not easy and it takes practice, but the result is so much better than the pre-cooked packages you find at the supermarket! Fluffy and tasteful, I could simply have it on its own.

The ingredients are very simple, just "semola", which is semolina made from durum wheat (careful, this is not semolina flour, the one we call "semola rimacinata di grano duro"), salted water and extra-virgin olive oil.

Grilled peppers and baby squid pasta salad

Posted on Monday 12th of July 2010 under

During summer, there is no neighbourhood in Sicily, from exclusive areas with expensive villas, to charming historical city centres, from busy markets to characterless city outskirts, where you will not encounter, at least once during your trip, the strong, inviting smell of grilled peppers.

Saffron maltagliati octopus salad

Posted on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 under Food and Drink | Recipes

"Are you crazy? Are you kneading dough today?" my friend asked.

Well, she was right, today it is very humid, not the ideal day for making fresh pasta;)! But then again, that is what came to my mind for tonight's welcome summer party and it had to be done.

I made saffron "maltagliati", literary meaning "badly cut" pasta, due to their irregualr shape.

For the pasta I mixed 200 gr flour, 200mg saffron, water and salt. I placed the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then rolled it out and cut the maltagliati.