Have a look at a typical Italian dish: lasagna Bolognese!

The Mediterranean diet is the result of millennia of exchange of people, cultures and foodstuffs all over the Mediterranean basin. It is characterized by the presence of vegetables and fruits, bread, fish, olive oil, poultry,  while the consumption of red meat is relatively low. A moderate consumption of wine during a meal is also allowed. The food pyramid clearly describes it. These days a standard Western diet has become far more popular in Italy, against Mediterranean diet, which remains a model of health sustainability: it is therefore necessary to enhance suitable resource management and to support quality in food. Practical and large scale projects should be started, in order to give advice about meals both for families and for the different kinds of community, respectively.

Here is a  typical Italian dish: lasagna Bolognese!

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Have a nice Sicilian meal!

Sicilian Spaghetti Sauce (Ragu)

      Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon basil
• salt and pepper (optional)

   Directions:

1. Add the olive oil.
2. chop cloves of garlic and add to the oil.
3. sautee and add the onions until they are clear or translucent
4. Try not to burn the garlic, as it will become bitter.
5. Combine the meat and fry the meat, breaking it apart until it is browned and cooked.
6. Add all to the sauce and continue to simmer for 40 minutes or more.

Sicilian limoncello

“Limoncello” is usually served ice-cold after dinner.

Here is its recipe!

Ingredients:
-1 Liter of 90 proof alcohol (90 proof means the alcohol content is 45%, by volume)
-2 Liters of water
-900 Grams of sugar (4 1\2 cups)
-Peels of 6 lemons

1.Scrub and dry lemons.

2.  Use a very sharp peeler to  remove the peel from the lemons. Avoid the white pith – it will make the limoncello bitter.
3.  Put the little peels in a wide mouth jar and pour over the alcohol. Close and leave to infuse in a cool, dark place for  at least two weeks, shaking  from time to time.
4. In a heavy bottom saucepan , mix the water and sugar. Slowly bring to a boil, for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly while boiling until it turns clear. Let cool. In the meantime, filter out the lemon peels from the alcohol.
5.Add the simple sugar syrup to the alcohol and mix well.
6.Close with a lid and leave in a dark place for two weeks.

7.Filter the Limoncello once more, and it is now ready to be served!

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TYPICAL FISH IN SICILY

The fish market in Trapani ( Pescheria ), is a meeting-place where you can buy all kinds of fish and sea-food.

Here are the most common fish.

Swordfish is greatly appreciated by local people and tourists.

Good sword needs nothing but  a simple olive oil-based marinade. After that, you can put it on the grill for a time and serve it with lemon, salt and herbs. You should taste it. It is delicious! .

Apart from sword, you can also buy  shrimps, prawns, sardines , etc…

Here is a way how to cook delicious prawns….

Spicy Sicilian prawns:

Put your prawns in a large bowl together with rosemary, garlic, orange zest, peppers and oil. Let them marinate for at least 2 hours or over night.
You have to preheat your oven to 450 F/ 230 C degrees. After that, put your prawns on a baking pan evenly, sprinkle with salt. Bake prawns until pink, about 8 minutes. Squeeze the orange juice all over the hot prawns and serve immediately!

You can’t miss mussels. They are very tasty!

Here is a simple recipe: Sicilian mussels with citrus tomatoes & chili.

Scrub your mussels clean and remove the beards.

Throw the tinned tomatoes into a food processor and process until pureed. Juice your lemon. Finely chop the chilli and put all of them aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy pot.

Finely chop your onion, garlic, and rosemary.

Throw the onion into the pot and let them cook for a few minutes until they are soft.

Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Add the mussels, rosemary, honey, vinegar, and white wine.

Cover and cook . When the mussels open remove them from the pot and put them aside.

Add the 3/4 cup of white wine, the pureed tomatoes, orange juice, lemon juice, and chilli to the pot. Cover and boil for five minutes.

Put the mussels into the pot once again, season with the freshly ground pepper and cover simmering for another minute.  Serve the mussels in deep bowls with the sauce poured over the top and lashings of fresh coriander.

The province of Trapani is full of old buildings,called “tonnare” (tuna factories) .Nowadays they are abandoned. On the contrary, in the past fishermen, after spending few days on the hunt, they went back home ready to prepare tunas. Trapanians like to call tuna “the sea pig”. Why? Because nothing of it is  wasted !

As a matter of fact, you can eat the tuna fin, the tuna head , the tuna heart and the liver, etc….. 

THE TYPICAL ITALIAN BREAKFAST

The typical Italian breakfast usually consists of a hot drink, just like “cappuccino” or caffè, accompanied by something sweet to eat- cake, cookies, pastries, brioche, croissants, or toast and jam.

SICILIAN ORANGE MARMALADE

-Ingredients:

1 kg of oranges

1,300 of sugar

1 l of water

1 lemon

Wash and cut the ends of the oranges. First cut  your oranges into quarters and then into thin strips. Put these strips in a liter of water and make them stand in water for 12 hours. After that,  put the oranges with all the water and the juice of one lemon in a pot and turn on the stove. Cooking takes about two hours and can be divided into three phases. In the first phase, you have to cook the oranges until the water boils. Boiling should last 30 minutes. In the second phase, you need to add sugar and start to stir to melt completely. With the sugar  the first boiling ends. In the third phase, boil again everything and cook for about 1 hour until it has a consistency similar to that of honey. When you finish cooking, put the jam in jars, then cork and invert these jars to create the vacuum. After you have done all this, your jam is ready to be enjoyed.     PS: During cooking, stir several times.

RICHARD'S FAVOURITE DISHES