A Sicilian Dinner : Parts 1 and 2

Tonight, I decided to go with the Sicilan option from the current menu: Sicilian Salad and Pasta "Timballo" with Fresh Ricotta. You may notice that there was a dessert included in the menu, but we were so full after dinner that I decided to save dessert for tomorrow night, and serve it after the leftovers from tonight's meal! Siciliy is a part of Italy, but it might as well be it's own country! Sicily was ruled by many different groups, including the Normans, Arabs, Spanish and French, so their cuisine has influences from many of these conquerors.

The Sicilian Salad is actually something most Sicilians would not think to eat, as they prefer eating their vegetables cooked, but the author of Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys
felt that the mixture of ingredients tasted to him like Sicily itself, and thus, the name of this salad. Thinly sliced fennel and radish, along with scallions, lettuce and arugula is dressed with some lemon juice, smashed garlic and olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Before serving, the salad is tossed with orange rounds and torn mint leaves. It is a very refreshing salad, and even my 4-year old niece was asking for more salad with oranges in it! I'm glad we've got leftovers for tomorrow night!

A "timballo" is a classic Sicilian dish, usually made on special occasions. The recipe I used is a very simplified version, as the original is covered with breadcrumbs or pastry and has the image of a birthday cake after it is unmolded. This was a much looser take on the traditional "timballo" but it was delicious. I made some homemade tomato sauce with garlic cloves, yellow onion and fresh tomatoes that I peeled, seeded and chopped. That's a time consuming task but it's worth it for the taste of tomatoes in their prime. To peel a tomato, you want to boil it in water for 2-3 minutes, and then dunk it in ice water, allowing it to cool. The skin will peel away easily from the meat of the tomato. This hint was not included in the recipe, so I'm glad I had that little trick up my sleeve. It makes things much easier!

I decided to add some proscuitto ribbons to my sauce, for a bit more substance. This is a vegetarian dish, as it is written in the book, but I wanted to alter it a little bit to include meat, and proscuitto seemed like a logical solution. Once my sauce was done, I boiled some "calamari rings." The recipe calls for anelli pasta, which are rings but much thinner. The "calamari rings" pasta that I used were thicker, and multi-colored (and flavored - red being tomato, I think, and green being spinach). Once the pasta was cooked, it was to be tossed with some olive oil, salt, pepper and red chili flakes. Half of the tomato sauce is spooned on to the bottom of a baking pan and mixed gently with half a pound of ricotta. I used part-skim ricotta since I was using a large amount of it. The pasta is poured on top and then topped with the rest of the tomato sauce. Spoonfuls of ricotta blot the top of the baking pan, and then Pecorino cheese is sprinkled on top. After 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven, it's ready to serve, so I sprinkled some basil on top and plated each dish. The "timballo" is very hearty and really tasty! Even though five of us were eating dinner, there's still enough left over for dinner tomorrow night, including the Fried Puffs with Honey (Sfince).

So stay tuned for Part 3 of this menu, which will conclude tomorrow evening. It sounds pretty incredible and I'm looking forward to trying them after what I already know is a delicious meal!