Food as full of life as the people

Walking through a Sicilian market, you cannot help but be swept up in the noise and rhythm, the scent of citrus, purple glossy eggplants, and the silver flash of sardines laid out on ice

Lennox Hastie’s Capontata. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

“In Sicily, women are more ­dangerous than shotguns” is a warning to Michael Corleone in The Godfather that perhaps ­captures the island perfectly. Sicily seduces you quietly, then hits you with force.

Against the backdrop of Mount Etna, ­dramatic cliffs and rocky coves, it has a ­cinematic quality, caught between light and shadow. The air feels charged, and every corner looks like a film set, as if life here is forever caught between frames, waiting for the director’s call to roll the camera again.

The food carries that same intensity, thanks largely to its volcanic history and melting pot of influences from Greek, Roman, Arab and Norman civilisations. Walking through a Sicilian market, you cannot help but be swept up in the noise and rhythm, the scent of citrus, purple glossy eggplants, and the silver flash of sardines laid out on ice.

Ripe, meaty tomatoes taste of the sun, whilst the hardy and highly prized capers from the rocky cliffs of nearby Pantelleria provide the ideal salty bite.

I still remember the first time I tasted caponata in Sicily, in a small family-run restaurant in the old town of Ragusa. It was served, as it should be, at room temperature, the flavours marrying to create a dish that glows from within. Glistening, sensual and unapologetically rich, the eggplant was silky and tender, the ­vibrant peppers and tomatoes cooked slowly into submission. It was punctuated by tangy capers and the wild brine of local green olives, while the raisins and pine nuts burst like small, sweet sighs. A splash of vinegar lifts everything into focus – resulting in one of the most beautiful summer dishes: layered and complex, sweet and sour, soft and sharp. While perfect on its own, it is also a wonderful accompaniment to fresh cheese, grilled meats and seafood, for which Sicily is also renowned.

Sarde a beccafico carries a different kind of history. The name alone tells a story, as ­beccaficos were stuffed and roasted whole songbirds – a dish served as a delicacy to Palermo’s aristocracy.

The idea was adapted by everyday people to use whatever was available, which in Sicily’s case was fresh anchovies or sardines, leftover bread, citrus, pine nuts, and raisins. The small fish are rolled delicately around their filling and sandwiched between bay leaves before being baked or grilled until the flesh turns opaque and the skin blisters. This humble substitution was so loved that its popularity soon eclipsed the original dish from where the idea came.

Both these dishes are a celebration of Sicilian cuisine. They are food of survival, of trade routes and conquest, but also of abundance, of a rich land that thrives with certain ingredients. They represent Sicily itself; resourceful, layered with history, and perfectly balanced.

Sarde a Beccafico are a taste of Sicily. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Sardines burst with flavour. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Sarde a beccafico (Stuffed sardines)

Ingredients

• 20 fresh sardines, butterflied and cleaned, heads removed
• 100g breadcrumbs (preferably from good day-old bread, toasted in a little olive oil)
• 50g pine nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
• 50g raisins soaked in Earl Gey tea for 10 minutes and drained
• 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of ½ orange
• A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 150ml olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Bunch fresh bay leaves, picked and washed

Method

1. Rinse the sardines, pat dry, and open them out like little books. In a bowl, combine the toasted breadcrumbs, 40g pine nuts, raisins, anchovy, lemon and orange zest, parsley and garlic. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season lightly with salt and pepper. The mixture should be moist enough to hold together when pressed between your fingers.
2. Place a little filling onto one side of each sardine and fold and roll it over to enclose, using a toothpick to secure. Preheat the oven or the grill to 200C. Grease a shallow baking dish with olive oil.
3. Arrange the stuffed sardines upright, interleaving with bay leaves for their aroma. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and another squeeze of lemon.
4. Bake or grill for 6-8 minutes, until the sardines are cooked through and lightly golden. Serve immediately with fresh parsley, a squeeze of lemon, and the remaining pine nuts.

Serves 4

One pot cooking: capontata. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

This dish is full of flavour. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Caponata

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants (700g-800g)
• 120ml olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, peeled and diced
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into 2cm dice
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 400g quality tinned tomatoes (or 500g ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
• 200g baby sugar plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 40g green olives, pitted and quartered
• 20g capers, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons cabernet sauvignon vinegar
• 40g pine nuts, toasted
• 40g raisins, soaked in Earl Grey tea for 10 minutes and drained
• Sea salt
• Handful caper leaves (if available)
• Fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Method

1. Fire up your grill or barbecue. Pinprick the eggplants all over and place directly on the grill so that the skin blisters and blackens, rotating to ensure that they blister evenly all over. Remove from the grill and allow to rest and steam for 6-8 minutes, before carefully peeling away the charred skin. Transfer the peeled eggplants to a clean tray, seasoning with salt.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat 120ml of olive oil over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent and soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add the capsicum and the celery and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until thickened.
3. Dice the peeled eggplant and add to the pan followed by the olives, capers, raisins and vinegar. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the pine nuts. Season to taste. Garnish with fresh basil and caper leaves before serving.

Serves 4