Traditional dishes:

Caponata: sweet and sour eggplant

Ingredients for 4 - 6

1 kg eggplant
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
450 g peeled, seeded tomatoes ( or use tinned tomatoes)
Handful fresh basil, chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed of salt
25 g sultanas
50 g green olives
25 g sugar

Peel the eggplant and cut into smallish dice. Heat 150 ml olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the eggplant until colored on all sides. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Drain off most of the oil (if there is any left), leaving only a few tablespoons. In this oil, fry the chopped onion until it is soft and transparent. Then add the tomatoes and the basil and cook over a medium heat until sauce has thickened somewhat. Season lightly with salt. In another pan, heat a drizzling of olive oil and sauté the chopped celery along with the capers, the sultanas and the olives. Add the tomato sauce to the celery mix and sprinkle over the sugar, stirring until sugar has melted. Stir in the fried eggplant and serve warm.

Sarde a Beccafico: stuffed sardines

Ingredients for 4 - 6

1 kg fresh small sardines
Extra-virgin olive oil
150 g homemade breadcrumbs
50 g sultanas, soaked and roughly chopped if large
50 g pine nuts
3 salted anchovies, rinsed and bones removed
Handful parsley, finely chopped
1½ sweet red onion, finely minced
tablespoon capers, rinsed of salt
Juice and grated zest of 1 orange
Pinch sugar
2 bay leaves, crumbled
Salt and pepper

Clean the sardines, removing the scales, the head and the backbone, but leaving the tail. Rinse and leave to drain on kitchen paper. In a frying pan, heat 100 ml of olive oil and add almost all of the breadcrumbs, leaving a handful to finish dish later. Sauté breadcrumbs until they are golden brown, stirring continuously. Place sautéed breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix with the sultanas, pine nuts, chopped anchovies, parsley, onion, capers, grated orange zest, the sugar and a little freshly ground pepper. Stuff the sardines with this mixture and roll them closed. Place rolled sardines in an oiled ovenproof dish along with the crumbled bay leaves, scatter remaining breadcrumbs over the top, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for 15 minutes at 325 ºF. Remove from oven, sprinkle with the orange juice and serve immediately.

Pasta alla Norma

Ingredients for 4

400 g penne
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
600 g peeled and seeded tomatoes (or use tinned tomatoes)
10 leaves fresh basil, torn
1 large eggplant
50 g salted ricotta, grated

Heat a drizzling of olive oil in a pan and add the clove of garlic. Sauté until the garlic has turned golden brown then discard garlic. Add the tomatoes and the basil leaves and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes. Salt to taste. Cut the eggplant into thin strips and fry in abundant olive oil until golden in color. Remove and drain eggplant on kitchen paper. Add eggplant to the tomato sauce. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water and drain as soon as it is cooked al dente. Throw pasta into the pan with the tomato sauce and the eggplant, toss together over a medium heat and serve immediately with the grated salted ricotta.

Pesce spada alla griglia: grilled sword fish

Ingredients for 4

4 slices swordfish
75 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Salt

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, mint and a pinch of salt. Place the swordfish in a shallow dish and cover with the marinade, turning so fish is coated evenly. Leave for at least half an hour before cooking over a grill or barbeque until fish is cooked on the outside and opaque on the inside. (Don’t be tempted to overcook.) Serve hot, drizzled with remaining marinade and a final pinch of salt.

Sorbetto all’arancia: orange sorbet

Ingredients for 6

8 blood oranges
2 lemons
300 g sugar
600 ml water
1 egg white, well whisked