RECIPES

You can also find more detailed information about the food and local dishes.

Arancini - Rice balls filled with meat sauce and cheese


Ingredients:
1kg rice, peas, boiled eggs, provola cheese, sauce, minced beef, grated cacao cavallo cheese.
Procedure
Boil rice, when nearly cooked add sauce, grated cheese, three beaten eggs. Prepare balls with pieces of hard-boiled eggs, mince meat and peas. Place balls in egg were, then fry in oil.

Caponata - Stewed vegetables


Ingredients:
5 eggplants, 200 g white olives, 100 g capers, 100 g celery, 3 onions, 150 g tomato paste, 100 g sugar, 1-cup vinegar, 3 g cocoa, ¼ cup of olive oil, 600 g sesame oil.
Procedure
Dice eggplants and place with salt to remove bitterness. Fry. In a saucepan slice onions and fry. In a spot of boiling water place diced celery, seeded olives and capers. Cook for a while.  When celery is cooked, drain and wash with fresh water. Place all in a casserole dish add sauce, sugar, vinegar, coco and mix with wooden spoon for 10 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and place eggplants. Place all ingredients on serving dish. Sprinkle chopped parsley. Serve cold.

Parmigiana - Backed layers of eggplants with tomato and cheese


Ingredients:
1 kg egg plants, 200 g onions, 150 tomato sauce, 150 g grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves, 50 g mozzarella, 2 boiled eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Procedure
Cut egg plants length ways in 2cm strips. Place in salted water. Remove and fry in oil, with sliced onion. Place eggplants in casserole dish and place cooked onion, tomato sauce, basil and grated Parmesan cheese.  Add another layer of eggplants and then sprinkle remaining grated Parmesan and tomato sauce. Place in oven and when half cooked decorate with mozzarella and sliced boiled eggs.

Pasta alla norma


Ingredients:
4 medium-sized eggplants, 3 cloves garlic, chopped, 500 g sun-ripened plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped, 10 basil leaves, 500 g spaghetti, 1/2 cup grated salted ricotta, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil (or corn oil) for frying.
Procedure:
Peel and slice the eggplant into half-inch (1 cm) slices, salt the slices, and let them sit in a colander for about an hour. Rinse them, pat them dry, and fry them a few pieces at a time in hot oil, turning them so both sides brown, and setting them to drain on absorbent paper. Next, set water to boil, and while it's heating heat 1/4 cup oil in a pot, sauté the garlic briefly, and then stir in the blanched, peeled tomatoes. Season with salt and abundant pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking the sauce figuring 15-20 minutes in all; about 5 minutes before it's done add the shredded basil. Keep an eye on the pasta pot while preparing the sauce, and as soon as the water boils salt it and cook the spaghetti. If you are serving a big bowl of pasta, season the pasta with the tomato sauce and them carefully mix the slices of eggplant into it. Then, sprinkle the pasta with much of the cheese.

Pasta con le sarde - Pasta and sardines


Ingredients:
1kg of small fennel, 500 g sardines, 600 g bucatini pasta, 2 diced onions, 6 anchovies, 50 g pine nuts, 50 g dried sultanas, 50 g roasted almonds, pinch saffron, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Procedure
Boil fennel in salted water, drain. Use same water to cook bucatini. Wash and remove spine from sardines cut and remove insides. Cut cooked fennel and fry with diced onion, anchovy fillets, pepper, pine nuts, saffron, dried sultanas, oil and ½ sardines. Place cook bucatini with 2/3 of sardine sauce. Place in casserole dish and place rest of sardines on cop. Sprinkle sliced roasted almonds and place in oven for 10 minutes

Macco di fave - Pasta and broad beans


Ingredients:
800 g broad beans, 400 g pasta, onion, celery, tomatoes, olive oil, salt.
Procedure
Soak beans over night. Cook in boiling salted water, add onion, celery and tomato. When cooked add pasta, cook and stir. Add extra virgin olive oil.

Sarde a beccafico - Small game and sardines


Ingredients:
1 kg fresh sardines, 1 lemon, 100 g soften bread crumbs, 2 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 60 g salted cappers, 60 g black olives, 40 g sultanas 40 g pine nuts, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, laurel, parsley and salt.
Procedure
Clean sardines and remove insides, head and scales. Slice open until tail. Wash and dry. Place on table and leave to rest. Place cappers and sultanas in bowl with water and let soak for 10 minutes.
Peel shallots, garlic and chop olives. Drain cappers and sultanas. Chop and add parsley, pine nuts and 4 chopped sardines. Place soft breadcrumbs in 2 tablespoons of oil and mix with other ingredients. Mix filling with sardine intestines, which were kept after cleaning. Fill sardines and roll up leaving tail stick out and place toothpick to secure. Place in casserole dish and add remaining breadcrumb mixture on top. Sprinkle lemon and oil over top and place in 180 C oven for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Falso magro - Filled meat roll


Ingredients:
800 g steak of veal, 200 g ham, 200 g pork sausage, 4 boiled eggs, 100 g lard, 80 g minced meat, 1 onion, 1 beaten egg, 1 clove garlic, 100 g caciocavallo spicy cheese, 60 g grated pepper pecorino cheese, parsley, 80 g boiled peas, tomato puree, red wine, oil, salt and pepper and lard.
Procedure
Mix diced ham, sliced boiled eggs, grated pecorino, peas, sausages, caciocavallo cheese, parsley, garlic, onion, minced beef, mix with beaten egg. Place mince filling in roast and roll up. Place in pot and add wine and cook for 1 hour with lid on. Remove from liquid. Use liquid as gravy when serving.

Cassata Siciliana - Sicilian Cassata cake


Ingredients:
500 g ricotta, 300 g icing sugar, 150 g mixed crystallized fruit, 150 g sponge cake, 100 g chocolate, vanilla and rum.
Procedure
Slice sponge cake and place on bottom of tray. Sieve ricotta, sugar and vanilla and then place on sponge cake. Add ½ cup rum, chopped chocolate, chopped crystallized fruit. Place all ingredients with sponge cake, level and then place more slices of sponge cake on top. Place in refrigerator and sprinkle icing sugar.