Patrizia Argento

A typical dinner of a Sicilian summer

These recipes are for a typical summer dinner in Palermo. Simple ingredients that reflect well the flavours of Sicily, like basil and jasmine, are the base of Sicilian culinary traditions. Our cuisine is at the heart of Sicilian culture, where entertaining and serving food to guests is a must, and certainly a pleasure.

Queste ricette sono per una tipica cena estiva palermitana. Ingredienti semplici e poveri, profumi come basilico e gelsomino sono alla base della cucina tipica Siciliana e in particolare Palermitana. La cucina rispecchia la cultura e la tradizione del territorio e in Sicilia intrattenere lospite un dovere, ma soprattutto un piacere!

Appetizer Serves 6

insalata di polipo octopus salad Ingredients: octopus 800 gr. Salt to taste, olive oil, lemon parsley
Put the octopus to boil in salt water for about twenty minutes. Turn off the heat and let the Octopus simmer into the hot water for an hour. This will soften the meat. There is a "secret" to cook the Octopus, once the water is boiling dip the octopus into the water three times. This will curle up the tentacles. Then let is boil for 20 mins (see above) In Palermo everyone knows this! After an hour, pull the Octopus out of the pot cut the head off if you prefer then dress it simply with olive oil, lemon and fresh parsley.

\\

Pasta con pesto alla trapanese Pasta with Sicilian pesto Ingredients Serves 6
600 grams of spaghetti or busiate; 1 / 2 clove garlic, (red or white); 1 bunch of basil; 50 gr of almonds (about 3 tablespoons); 600 grams of ripe red tomatoes; salt; extra virgin olive oil; pepper ; grated pecorino. Put in the food processor the garlic, the fresh basil, the almonds, 1 pinch of salt, 1 or 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Next put the tomatoes into a pot with boiling water for a couple of minutes or until you see the skin breaking this will help you remove the skin of the tomatoes. Pull the tomatoes out of the boiling water and carefully remove the skin, be careful not to get burned! Pour the tomatoes in the blender with the pesto you already made and blend one more time to obtain a creamy red mix. Cook the pasta in boiling water add salt - and when ready and drained, place it in a bowl and mix the pesto. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Optionally you can add a sprinkling of pecorino cheese.

Spiedini siciliani Sicilian skewers Ingredients Serves 6

600 gr. minced meat 2 eggs 100 gr. Of grated parmiggiano or pecorino cheese, parsley, A hard cheese sliced thin breadcrumbs, salt and pepper small slice of stale bread, half a glass of milk (optional) . In a bowl mix the mince meat with the eggs and the breadcrumbs till it turns into a think ball. Add the grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, mixing well and adding a few tablespoons of milk if you want to soften the dough. Take a small piece of dough and form small balls by using the palms of your hand. Once done, place a small slice of dry bread and a slice of hard cheese. You can now roll the skewers in olive oil and then pass in breadcrumbs. The skewers can now be fried in olive oil or cooked in the oven at 180 C. In any case the result will be excellent!

Caponata di melanzane Eggplant caponata

8 eggplants 400 grams of tomato sauce 200 grams of green olives 1 bunch of celery 150 grams of capers 1 onion, a bunch of basil a spoonful of sugar cup vinegar A pinch of salt extra virgin olive oil some roasted almonds Cut the eggplant into small cubes without removing the skin and leave an hour in salted water. Drain, pat dry and fry the cubes in a pan with plenty of oil. In another pan, boil the celery till is tender, then chop into small pieces. Apart from the blanched celery, chopped, salted water. In a pan with a little olive oil, saut an onion sliced thin, then add the pitted olives, the capers, the celery and finally the tomato sauce. After a few minutes in the pan, add the eggplant as well. At this point add the sugar and vinegar, which you have prepared in a glass first, beating well to dissolve the sugar. Pour mix of sugar and vinegar into the pan and cook together for a few minutes in the sauce over very low heat. Serve the caponata cool decorating it with sprigs of fresh basil and roasted almonds.

Dessert al Gelo di mellone Water Melon jelly

Ingredients: 1 water melon about 3-4 Kg (which should give about 1.5l of juice); 100 grams of sugar per liter of juice; 70 grams of starch per liter of juice; 20 grams of dark chocolate; Jasmine flowers (optional)

Preparation: Put the jasmine flowers in a small cup of water (half tea cup is enough), but keep a few aside for decoration. Cut the melon into pieces. After removing the peel and seeds, pass through a sieve and the juice into a saucepan, blend in the starch and sugar, then add the water you used to dip the jasmine flowers, which you can now discard. Put the saucepan on the stove and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly. Once the juice is slightly thickened, pour into a mold of desired shape, or inside small cups. Cool on the stow for 30 mins then place in the refrigerator for another hour. Once cold decorate with dark chocolate chips and fresh jasmine flowers. Remember that here in Palermo, water melon jelly is pronounced with two L, MELLON!

Buon appetito Enjoy your meal