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Regional Cooking
Sicilia
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Sicily, the island in the sun, where citrus and greens mature to perfection. This is an island of contradictions. To know it is to love it because its people cultivate an appreciation for friendship and are kind and hospitable. But it is also a land where words are heavy with significance, it takes time to learn the key. Sicilians are capable of sending messages fraught with meaning, sometimes mortal, without moving a muscle of their straight faces.
You must also be careful with your words when talking about Sicilian cuisine. Arancini (little oranges) in Sicily are fried balls made with rice, meat, and grated cheese; quaglie (quails) are eggplants opened and fried in oil, and falsemagre (false thins) are not young women but meatballs made with salame, hard-boiled eggs, parsley and other things. And breasts of virgin are not at all what you might think.
The cooking of the eastern part of Sicily is different from that of the west. From Caltanisetta to Trapani the influence is Saracen, with its strong contrasts and flavours fighting each other. Whereas on the eastern side, from Messina to Siracusa, from Catania to Agrigento, the cuisine is sober, with less fantasy, avoiding the sweet and sour and less generous with sugar in the sauces. This is because the Arab influence was stronger in the western part of the island. It's not surprising that one of Trapani's specialties is "cuscusu" or small balls of semolino cooked over boiling water so that the cuscusu is cooked in steam, then added to a broth made from fish soup and then served with the same fish that contributed to the soup. If lobster is added the dish is perfect.
Sicily exceeds all the other regions of Italy for its abundance of sweets, fruits, and ice creams. It's a paradise for children and those with a sweet tooth. There are pastry shops with more than thirty varieties of pastries and ice-cream makers who could conquer the equator. All of the recipes for Sicilian sweets come from the monasteries where sons and daughters of the great families lived in cloisters and expressed their dreams in sugar and flour. Candied fruits and sweets made with almond paste emerged from these sacred places, and until the turn of the century the entire production went to the clergy and Sicily's aristocrats. Some recipes remain a mystery, the nuns of Santo Spirito refuse to reveal their secrets for making the sweet dessert they sell from a revolving door at their convent in Agrigento.
Fortunately these traditional sweets live on during the religious festivals, for example at Easter when desserts made from almond paste in the form of sheep are sold, as well as the lamb of god rendered in color, and a special sweet for each patron saint.
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Little Rice Oranges (Arancini di Riso)
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Ingredients for 4 people:
- 500 grams rice
- 2 eggs
- 100 grams grated parmesan cheese
- 300 grams ground beef
- 100 grams ground chicken
- 1 onion and 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- sage
- oregano
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup white wine
- Oil for fying
- Some flour and dried breadcrumbs
- 1 beaten egg
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Cook the chopped onion and celery with a soupspoon of oil in a pan and cook over a moderate fire. Add the meat, chicken, sage, oregano, salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring constantly. Add some of the white wine. Meanwhile boil the rice in salt water and when cooked add the grated parmesan cheese and the two eggs. When the rice is cold put a soupspoon of rice in your left hand, add a teaspoon or the meat mixture, and complete the ball with another spoonful of rice, forming a ball about the size of a small orange. When all the balls are formed roll them in flour, then dip them in the beaten egg, followed by the breadcrumbs, and fry them in boiling oil. There should be enough oil to completely cover the "little oranges". As soon as they are golden remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.
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