il couscous alla Trapanese

Gabriella's mother-in-law is in town for a few weeks from Trapani. I was thrilled when they invited me over to make couscous, as her mother-in-law brought semolina from Sicily. I jumped at the chance to see how it was made.  I have only eaten the pre-cooked version, never the traditional couscous.  (Semolina for couscous is a coarsely ground durum wheat, difficult to find here in Genova.)

"The couscous that is served today in the homes and the restaurants of the Trapani area has evolved in its own particular fashion. In the first place, it is almost always served with fish, as opposed to the meat or vegetable versions characteristic of the Maghreb, and the rituals of preparation differ as well.

The proper Trapanese housewife disdains the precooked variety for the unprocessed, and sets great store by her ability to execute the 'ncocciata: swirling the rough-ground semolina grains around with one hand in a wide ceramic basin called a mafaradda, she uses the other hand to sprinkle it with just enough water so the individual grains gather into loose but not lumpy clusters." -Mary Taylor Simeti, New Your Times

For every handful of semolina, one spoon of salted water is added.

The couscous is set out onto a cloth to dry.

A pesto of garlic,parsley, blanched almonds, salt, and oil is added to the fish broth as it simmers.  It is essential for an authentic couscous. 

Then a mixture of ground garlic and onion (half onion and 4 garlic cloves) is mixed into the couscous that is now seasoned with a little olive oil, bay leaves, salt and pepper. (We also added shrimp.)  Completely mixed, it is placed into an aluminum couscoussiera, a double boiler in which the tight-fitting upper pot is perforated like a colander. Some people still seals the two layers of the couscoussiera with a flour-and-water paste so the steam will not escape. The couscous is then steamed over water for two hours. Once vapors begin to pass through the couscous, cooking has begun.  Stir from time to time...

 

Once cooked, the couscous is turned out into a large bowl, and the fish broth is ladled over it. (Making sure  use a strainer to strain out the fish bones.) The bowl is then wrapped in blankets and left to stand for half an hour, while the grains absorb the broth.

Check out another family from Trapani and see how they make il couscous alla Trapanese on YOUTUBE.

SugoFry an onion in a large pot with olive oil.  Once tender, add tomato sauce, simmer and season to taste. Once sauce is "ready to serve with pasta" add a liter of water and salt.  Simmer and bring back to a boil.  Add the pesto of garlic, parsley, blanched almonds, salt, and oil. Simmer and bring back to a boil. At this time, add the fish, the smaller the better. These little fish will boil away into the broth.  Later you will add the larger fish that can be served as a second.

il mio mattarello

With all that pesto made, I got to work on fresh pasta.  Last night we had a dinner for six and we were going to serve the maltagliati pasta with pesto, and the fresh sheep ricotta ravioli with salsa alla noci.  While I was rolling, Gabriella prepared the noci, so I'll work on adding that subtle sauce soon...

All this was made possible due to my purchase from the street market on Thursday; my new, extra long polling pin!

Just a reminder, for fresh egg pasta, 100g of durum wheat pasta, one egg, and a touch of salt.  Rule of thumb, 400 g flour with 4 eggs will serve 6 portions of fresh pasta and 8 portions of filled pasta.

Tellina

The tellina is a very small shellfish with an elongated, oval, smooth exterior shell that lives in the sand of the Mediterranean. The meat of these tellina are delicious. We usually pick them up whenever we can find them, as they are not always available.

There are a million ways to enjoy these tiny clams, but for us the best way to savor every bite it to eat them with your fingers! With their vibrant violet interior, these clams are a delicacy for all the senses. They are tiny and one has to eat quite a few to satisfy a hunger, but with a nice slice of crusty bread, their taste is ever so good.

Carrapipana

The other day, Antonello came home with a large tray of tomatoes for making sauce. He also picked up a few peppers from the same road side vendor. Adding a few onions into the mix, I was ready for a large production of fresh Carrapipana!

Carrapipana

Depending on what you have around the house, you can be the judge on the quantities... I just happened to have three nice size peppers.

3 Large peppers
1,600 grams of tomatoes

550 grams of onions
Salt

small package of cooking cream, panna

In a large pan with a very small amount of water, layer in all the vegetables.

Leave the pot to simmer on a low flame. Once everything has cooked down, transfer the mixture to a vegetable mill and make a smooth sauce.
I then placed the extra sauce in jars to save for another day. When you're ready for something light and simple, just add some salt.

However, Carrapipana goes one extra step beyond that. The addition of rich cream makes this sauce heavenly. Once the sauce has cooked down and all the extra water has evaporated, add the cream and watch this mixture transform. I served this with thick al dente spiral pasta and the rich sauce adhered to every twist and turn... Yummy!

fiori di zucchine ripiene al forno

Yesterday morning, at the fish market in town, I decided on a small portion of fresh shrimp for a simple second. I picked up a few, not knowing exactly how I would prepare them. That was until I saw a big basket of zucchini flowers attached to tiny baby zucchini sitting in the doorway of my vegetable store. My lunch menu was planned!

Oven baked Pasta Stuffed in Zucchini Flowers

First I cleaned the flowers and cut the zucchini into small pieces.

In a pan, brown garlic in a small amount of oil, then add the shrimp. Once the shrimp were cooked, I transferred them to a plate to serve as a second. All of their sweet juices remained in the pan... At this point you could add the zucchini to the pan, but I prefer to cook the zucchini in a pot of water, so not to fry them.

Once the zucchini were tender, I added them to the pan of juice. In the same pot of water I added the pasta and cooked until very al dente.

The pasta then absorbed the juices in the pan. A spoonful of fresh ricotta was added at the last moment to make it creamy.

I cut the flower down the center and opened it up. As if wrapping a present, I filled each flower with a portion of the pasta mixture and wrapped the flower around. I then placed them in a baking dish and baked them for 15 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.

They were unbelievable good! The flower had a bit of a crunch along with the delicate zucchini and sweet shrimp flavor.

Nero di Seppia

One of my favorite pasta dishes, when we dine out, happens to be Nero di Seppia, Black ink of the Cuttlefish. Yes, it is not a meal for those worried about their appearance as during the meal your entire mouth turns a very dark shade of black. But, for those daring and open to taste something incredible, this is a plate you must not pass up. I stopped by the fish market and picked up a couple cuttlefishes to try this delicacy at home.

These are the ink pouches inside the Seppia






4 People:
350 g of spaghetti
500 g of seppie, 13 cm long, tender
half glass of tomato sauce
1/2 onion (70 g)
parsley
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of white wine
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper and salt

Clean the seppia, saving the ink pouch. Cut the seppia into pieces then rinse with water. Cut the onion into slices and sauté in EVOlive Oil over medium heat with one clove of garlic. When the onion changes color, add the seppia, parsley, and the tomato sauce. Cook together on low heat. Then add the white wine and leave to cook completely. (20 min)

At the end, break the ink pouch and empty into the pan. (This is very strong ink, better to break with scissors and not your hands!) Cook for another minute and add the pepper, and salt if necessary. Turn the fire off and remove the garlic, and add EVOlive Oil. Combine the spaghetti and a touch of parsley for decoration.

Calamaricchi

Calamaricchi or Calamaretti in Italian, are little squids. Every fish market you pass lately have these little guys on display. So, for lunch... Pasta con Calamaricchi!

Tagliatelle con vongole e porro

Our friends Andrea and Miriam ate dinner with us on Saturday. We made another egg pasta, this time Tagliatelle...

Tagliatelle con vongole e porro
4 People:
Vongole (small clams) 1 kilo
Leeks 100 g
Bay leaf 2
White wine 50ml
2 cloves of garlic
EVOlive oil

Warm EVOlive oil in a pan with garlic and bay leaves. Once the garlic is browned, add the clams. A few minutes later, add the white wine and cook until tender. Remove the shells.
Cut the leak in slices and simmer in a pan of chicken or vegetable broth for ten minutes.
Once cooked, add the leeks to the pan with clams. Bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Add the cooked pasta to the vongole and serve.

Buon Compleanno Antonello

Yesterday was Antonello's Birthday! We invited friends over to share a dinner together and on the menu we served carciofi e ricotta tortellini, and for the second dentice in crosta di sale. (Artichoke and ricotta tortellini, and local Snapper cooked in a salt crust)

Carciofi e Ricotta Tortellini

Clean all the exterior leaves off.

Trim off the top, cut into quarters, and drop into a pot of water with lemon.

At this point, boil the artichokes in lightly salted water till they are tender.

Using an immersion blender, blend the artichokes till a creamy consistency. We then added ricotta at this point to fill our tortellini.

This time, when making the pasta, we used our pasta machine. We were able to make a large assembly line to fill and form our tortellini.

We served the tortellini with a sage butter sauce. A light taste, so not to cover the delicate artichokes.


With a hammering technique, Antonello cracked open the salt shield. Inside, we were treated with a delicacy...

Auguri Amore Mio!

Luca and Maria

dentice crosta di sale1 dentice around 1,5 Kg
2 Kg of large grain salt

Once the fish has been cleaned, place a few sprigs of parsley inside the fish. Line a baking tray with paper and cover with a layer of salt. Place the fish on top of the salt and carefully cover the fish with the remaining salt. Water and the use of egg whites can help with the salt application. Place it in the oven for about an hour and 15 min at 180 ° (250°). When the fish is cooked, break open the shell and serve with an extra virgin olive oil mixture. Olive oil, lemon, parsley, garlic, and salt.