Frivolous granita? Something you cannot do without it

Are you planning to visit Sicily? Are you a foodie-kind of traveler?

There is a list of local food and delicacies you cannot miss. Granita, arancini, cannoli and cassata are top on the list and if do not taste at least one of them you cannot proudly say "I was in Sicily"!

Let's start with granita, my favourite. What is funny to me is reading worldwide accredited and reliable guides writing that granita is made with ice and syrup. I suppose those writers have never been to Sicily or have never tasted granite in Sicily to talk and write nonsense.
It is true that in the past people used to prepare granita with snow and lemon juice, this was typical of Messina area, while Catania dignified the "minnulata" a granita made exclusively of almonds.
Born originally in Messina, granita is diffused all around the island. It is a kind of sorbet, the basic recipe includes water (not ice!) and sugar to which several ingredients are added to characterize its flavor: lemon, almond, strawberry, coffee, chocolate (it matches perfectly with the almond one), pistachio (try it in Catania area!), mulberries, peach, just to mention some.Bars and cafès rigorously serve in a transparent glass and you may ask to add some panna (cream) on the top or at the bottom of the glass (this is used in Messina area where they add panna both at the bottom and on the top of the coffee granite) and match it with a fragrant brioche. So, while in Sicily ask for "granita con panna e brioche"!

Granita is a true masterpiece of Sicilian cooking and the favourite piece for summer breakfast (don't be afraid to have a granita any time during the day, you will see local people have lunch with it or eat it at midnight!).
Believe me, it is absolutely a must, a frivolous titbit you will never forget!

In Sicily the method to make it is completely different from the north of Italy where they use to make ice, crush it and then add the flavour. Here, bars and cafes use a special machine with blades able to keep moving the liquid at a very low temperature so avoiding it to solidify. A high percentage of sugar in the liquid favours the preparation of a sort of cream which is the granite itself.

Now, you wonder, can we do home-made granita? Definitely yes!

Ingredients
Serves 4/5 people

½ a lt of lemon juice (use 8/10 organic lemons only)
½ a lt of water
500 gr of caster sugar
Grated lemon peel (1/2 organic lemons are enough)
A steel bowl

1. Grate the lemon peel and then squeeze the lemons to prepare the juice.
2. Boil the water and let it rest until tepid, then add sugar, lemon juice and grated lemon peel. Let it cool.
3. Pour it in the steel bowl and put it in the freezer. Stir the liquid every 20/30 minutes using a fork or a whisk so to avoid its solidification.
4. When the liquid becomes grainy, granite is ready. Serve it in transparent glasses with tea spoons and fresh cream.

Buon appetito!

P.S. The brioche recipe will be posted at soonest!


© Text and pictures by Doriana Briguglio

Torrone catanese at the market

What do you usually do when you need to get inspired?

Ops, I'm not getting mad, don't worry, no knives :)

When I need inspiration I like wandering about Catania, aimlessly, just look at the people, the places and wait to be brighted with a brillant flash of illumination. Usually, it works. My camera is always with me, you'll never know!

I don't know why but these wandering often lead me to one of my favourite places in Catania: the market. Well, I should say there are two main markets who are worth to visit: the fish market (what a terrific place! I promise I will tell about it soon) and the "fera 'o luni", the central market where you can find almost everything, food, beverages, clothes, shoes, accessories, dress-materials, detergents, soaps of any kind. What do you need? Be sure you can find it there! Any traveller visiting Catania should stop at both markets: you will never forget the people, their shouts, the colours, the smells. You might be shocked or better delighted, in both cases a unique experience.

So, I was there last week and I was lucky enough to find something it is not easy to see: the torrone making.

What's the torrone? It's a kind of noughat made basically of almonds and honey and is very common in Sicily as a sort of dessert, sometimes even a sort of distraction, when you've got that yen to eat something or for pangs of hunger. It's part of the inheritance left by the Arab domination in Sicily (a lot of the Arab tradition is in our food and recipes).

I stood bewitched by the maker: his figure quite dramatic, a typical middle-aged Sicilian man of Mediterranean origins, his movements gentle and speed, his eyes dark and brilliant. I'd never seen torrone making before, I was ravished!

I asked him to give me his recipe to make the torrone at home. He was very nice !

1 kg of almonds
1 kg of sugar
4 spoons of honey
Some orange rind finely cut up
Olive oil
Half a lemon

1. Dip the almonds in hot water for a couple of minutes, peel them and then wipe carefully.
2. Pour the almonds, the sugar and the honey into a large pan and cook on a very low flame, stirring continuously to avoid sugar to stick.
3. Prepare the top, preferably a marble one, and wet it with some olive oil. Use a spatula and damp it with the lemon.
4. Wait until the sugar is melted, pour the mixture on the marble top and use the spatula to level it. When it is cold, cut it in reatnular pieces with a strong knife.

Buon appetito!

© Text and picture by Doriana Briguglio

Gelo all'arancia! Does it sound good?

You bet!
It sounds good, it taste delicious!

The arancia rossa (red orange) also named tarocco is one of the most delicious autochthonous cultivar in Sicily. It a typical winter orange, widely used for fresh juice.

It's also a perfect ingredient for a typical Sicilian gelo (sort of fruit jelly).

Preparing the gelo
serves 6/8 people

half a lt of orange juice
180 grams of sugar
half a squeezed lemon
17 grams of gelatine
pistach powder

1. Squeeze the organges to get half a liter of juice. Pour it into a bowl and add the lemon juice.
2. Prepare a syrup, boiling half a lt of water and adding the sugar, stirring well so to dissolve it.
3. Pour some water into a bowl, dip the gelatine sheets and let it soften for about 5 minutes. Then, wring it and add into the syrup. Stir until it is completeply dissolved.
4. Pour everything into the juice bowl, strir well. Pour the mixture into a pudding mould (better if made of alluminium or glass). Put it into the fridge for at least 2/3 hours.
5. When it gets a jelly consistency, put it in a double boiler (bain-marie) with lukewarm water for a few seconds. Then, turn it upside down using a plate or a tray.
6. Decorate with pistach powder, slice ad serve it.
You can also use whipped cream, fresh fruit, almonds or chocolate flakes to decorate it.

Buon appetito!

Sfoglio, a dessert from the Madonie area

The Madonie Mountains are located not so far from Palermo holding some of the most distinctive and well-kept villages in Sicily, many on them dating back to the Middle Ages.

The recipe of the sfoglio goes back to the XIV - XV century a.C. when the nuns of the Santa Margherita Monastry, located in the village of Polizzi Generosa, used to cook it for their patron saint day St. Benedict.

Its main ingredient is the tuma cheese, being the first cheese deriving from the milk making.
Once it is cooked, you will never realise that cheese is really in the dessert and you will simply love it for its peculiar taste.

Preparing the puff pastry:
400 grams of white flour
200 grams of lard or butter
200 grams of sugar
4 yolks
3 Marsala wine spoons
(do not use any other spirit if you d not have the Marsala)
grated lemon rind
a bit of salt

Preparing the filling:
400 grams of grated tuma cheese
(if you do not find the tuma cheese you might use the ricotta cheese)
200 grams of sugar
25 grams of cinnamon powder
200 grams of plain chocolate
100 grams of candied pumpkin in small chops
2 beaten egg whites
icing sugar

Prepare the dough mixing well all ingredients, try not to knead it for long so to avoid the lard or butter soften it too much. When the puff pastry is ready, wrap it in a cloth and let it rest for about 2 hours. If it is possible, prepare the puff pastry one day in advance.

Grate the tuma cheese and add the beaten egg whites with the sugar, then the cinnamon powder, the chops of plain chocolate and of candied pumpkin. Mix well all ingredients and let it rest.

Roll out the puff pastry so to get two round pieces, one larger, one smaller.
The first, the larger, should be used to cover the pie-dish (better to roll out it straight on the greaseproof paper), the second to cover the filling.
Lay the puff pastry down with care on the pie-dish, pour the filling and cover it with the second puff pastry. Bake it at 180°C for about 40-50 minutes.

When it is cold, dust the cake with the icing sugar.

Tip: let it rest for 2 days before serving it. It will be delicious!

Picture: © Doriana Briguglio

Buccellato - the typical Sicilian dessert for Christmas

The word Buccellato comes from the latin word buccellatum meaning half-eaten (or cucciddatu in Sicilian slang). It is a typical dessert for Christmas served all over the island. Cooked in the oven, it keeps for long and is used to eat it during all Christmas holidays. The home-made version may be covered with icing.

For the dough:
500 gr of wheat flour
500 gr of butter
200 gr of sugar
4 eggs
a glass of milk

For the stuffing:
300 gr of dried figs
200 gr of candied pumpkin in cubes
150 gr of walnuts
150 gr of raisins
50 gr of plain chocolate
50 of pistaches
150 gr of ground almonds
1 egg
2 cloves
cinnamon
ground black pepper

Preparing the dough:

Process the butter as a cream and add it to the flavour, the eggs, the sugar and the glass of milk. Prepare two pieces of dough, roll out them as a thick puff pastry and cut out two round shapes.

Preparing the filling:

Cut the dried figs in small pieces, cut roughly the pistaches, the almonds and the walnuts. In a bowl mix these ingredients with some slivers of plain chocolate, the raisins and the cubes of candied pumpkin. Add the egg, a bit of cinnamon, half a spoon of ground black pepper and the 2 cloves. Mix all ingredients to obtain a dense filling.

Cut the centre of the puff pastry with a round shape and put the filling on. Then, cover the filling with the second puff pastry so to get a ring. For accomplished cooks cut the pastry into several strips and create a sort of net to cover the filling.

Dust the buccellato with the chopped pistach and cook in the oven on a moderate flame for about 30 minutes.

When cold, add some candied fruit on top. Slice and serve it.

Buon appetito!

Cuccia cake - welcome to Christmas time

The Cuccia is a typical Sicilian dessert which traditionally inaugurate Christmas time on the day of St. Lucy, the 13th of December.

500 gr of soft wheat
50 gr of fresh ricotta cheese
300 gr of sugar
100 gr of plain chocolate
1/2 a sachet of vanilla or cinnamon
pistachios or candid fruit
salt

The wheat must be soaked for 3 days and the water must be changed at least twice.
The day before preparing the cake, the wheat must be strained, then immersed into salty water and cooked on a low flame for 6/8 hours. Let it rest in the same pan all night long.

The day after, strain the wheat and put it in a bowl.

Then start preparing the ricotta cream: put the ricotta cheese and the sugar in a pan and cook it on a moderate flame, bring it to the boil and put it out. Make it cold and add the chocolate in pieces, the vanilla or the cinnamon and at last the wheat.
Finally, mix all ingredients, pour the mixture in a cake tin and let it rest for 3 hrs.
Serve it on a plate or on a small bowl and cover with pistachio or candid fruit.