Today’s recipes

Sicilian traditional cuisine cooking class at De Mauro mansion - Catania, Sicily (Italy)

Semolina pasta dough

Serves 4

• 300 g (10 1⁄2 oz) semolina wheat flour
• a good pinch of salt
• 150 g (5 oz) water at room temperature

Place the flour in a pile in the center of a large cutting board and make a well in the center. Pour the olive oil and most of the water, take a fork and begin to mix until the mixture is blended enough to dig in with your hands. Keep adding a little extra flour if necessary or a little bit of water if the mix is too dry. Once the ball of your basic pasta dough is firm and manageable you can begin to knead. When the dough is quite elastic and its surface nicely smooth, shape it as a ball, wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. Before shaping the pasta, allow the dough to get to room temperature, then shape as you desire: cavatelli, caserecci, busiati, maccheroni...

Trapanese Pesto (for pasta or bruschetta)

Serves 6

• 240 g (8,5 oz) plum (or cherry) tomatoes
• 120 g (4 oz) toasted almonds
• 2-3 garlic peeled cloves
• 10 leaves of basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

With a mortar and pestle mash the garlic with salt until it gets creamy, then add the almonds, oil, basil and crush them; chop the tomatoes into tiny pieces and place them into a bowl, season with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Finally, pour the almonds mixture into the bowl with the tomatoes and mix all together. Add more oil if necessary. Let the pesto rests for at least 1 hour to blend all the flavors. 
If you don’t have a mortar, you can use an immersion blender or a food processor. Place the tomatoes cut in big pieces and the basil in the food processor or into a jar (most of the immersion blenders have their own pastic jar/glass) and pulse. Make sure you do not blend for too long (we do not want a smoothie!); if you are making a good amount of pesto, blend the tomatoes and basil a little at a time and place the mixture into a bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl: ground almonds, the garlic paste made as written above (if you do not have a mortar and pestle use a garlic press), extra virgin olive oil and salt (if necessary). 
This pesto is perfect for a pasta but also on a toasted slice of bread. In Italy, the most popular pesto is usually made with basil and it is typical of the Genova area (north west Italy), but the generic word pesto refers to any kind of sauce made with raw ingredients crushed and blended in a mortar with pestle. In Sicily we create pestos with our local ingredients like almond or pistachio.

Sicilian beef rolls (braciolette) ‘alla ragusana’

For 12-14 tiny meatrolls

• 4-5 slices of beef meat cut very thin
• 30 g (1,1 oz) aged Caciocavallo (or Pecorino) cheese
• 100 g (3,5 oz) fresh grated bread
• 1 tbs sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• 10 tbs breadcrumbs
• salt
• 10 leaves basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• water

Cut the meat in two inches wide slices.
Prepare the filling: in a bowl place cheese, basil, sundried tomatoes and bread with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, season with a little bit of salt (if necessary) and mix all the ingredients. If the filling is too dry you can add a couple of tablespoons of water, until you have the consistency of a paste.
To compose your rolls, place a tablespoon of the filling on the surface of the meat slice, spread and press it with your thumb, then roll up the slice around the filling. Coat the meatrolls with breadcrumb and skewer them with a toothpick (or you can place three/four of them in a skew).
Place the meat rolls into the oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 5 minutes, or until the surface is nicely golden.

Peppers in agrodolce (baked version)

Serves 4

• 1 kg/ 2 lb red and green peppers
• 1 red onion
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 2 tbsp chopped almonds
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar (or apple vinegar)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• extra virgin olive oil 
• fresh mint

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C (360° F). Cut the peppers into strips and put them in a bowl, add oil, salt, raisins, sugar and vinegar and mix well. Transfer everything into a baking dish, on a single layer, and bake for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. Let cool, then add the fresh mint and almond. Serve at room temperature, preferably a couple of hours after preparation. The sweet and sour (agrodolce) is very personal: you can taste it halfway through cooking and figure out whether to add more vinegar or more sugar. Remember that the final flavor will come out only when the dish is cold, so don’t be too generous! These peppers are perfect as an appetizer, along with some cous cous or to accompany grilled fish dishes.

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