Featured

Baccala’/Codfish A ‘Gghiotta

Baccala’/Codfish A ‘Gghiotta {Photo by That’s Amore Boutique Travels}

Buonasera to all of you!

I am delighted to begin the Blog section of my agency website with dishes I shared to keep each other company during covid! Happy to see how many of you were interested and asked me for recipes. As you know, I am not a professional Chef and therefore don’t use specific measurements, forgive me for this, but my Papa’/Father was a Chef in the USA for nearly 20 years and my Mom is an excellent cook so I grew up around them in cucina and through them, I fell in love with cooking. All four of my Nonni/Grandparents were also incredible cooks! Food has always played an important role in my family, memories and identity – and is also for most Sicilians and Southern Italians or Islanders from the Mediterranean. So here we go!

Ingredients

4 Filets of Baccala/Codfish (or Tilapia or Platessa)

1 Red Onion (you can also use a white onion or leeks instead)

Tomato passata/puree

Olive Oil

Green Olives

Capers

*Potatoes (optional)

Fresh Parsley

Salt

A pinch of sugar

Water

Preparation

*Note on fish: if your fish is salty, leave in cool water for 2-3 days and rinse 3 times a day before making this recipe. If your fish is frozen make sure you thaw it out a few hours before making this recipe or leave in a bowl with water 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.

*Note on recipe: there are many versions of this dish, I sometimes make it with a bed of leeks and potatoes, thinly slices, instead of the onion with all other ingredients included in this recipe. You can try this version as well.

Slice the onion and place in a deeper skillet or pan. Cover the layer of onion with water and turn your stove on at medium heat. Let it cook until water evaporates so that the onion is more easily digested. My Mom taught me this trick!

Drizzle olive oil over the onion and add tomato passata/puree. Taste and if needed add a pinch of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. With a wooden spoon, blend everything together.

Over the sauce (make sure it’s not too much sauce, just enough to serve as a “bed” under the fish – which has to be the protagonist of this dish! ) add the 4 fish filets, green olives and capers to taste and add more water until all layers are covered.

Let it cook at medium heat until you see that the fish is ready. Taste and if needed add a pinch of salt. Sprinkle fresh parsley before serving and enjoy!

More recipes coming soon!

Melanzane/Eggplants with Mint, Fennel & Parsley

Melanzane/Eggplants With Mint, Fennel & Parsley

Melanzane or Eggplants are a fundamental staple in Sicilian and Southern Italian cuisines – but they are often found in other Mediterranean cuisines such as Greek, Arabic, Northern African, Spanish or Southern French. In my childhood, we always picked eggplants from Papa‘s or Nonno‘s garden/orto. As I grew, I replicated the myriad dishes we make with them in Sicilian cuisine with family and friends from across the world coming to our home. This is a super quick and tasty side dish you can enjoy with family or friends during an ordinary meal or for get togethers.

Ingredients

Eggplants

Mint (all herbs are best fresh but you can use dry ones as well)

Parsley

Fennel Leaves

Salt

Olive Oil

*Vinegar if you wish

Preparation:

For this dish above, I washed the eggplants and diced in cubes – keeping the skin. You can also remove the skin if you wish. Place in a pan, sprinkle some salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil and drain. Add olive oil and sprinkle with fresh mint, parsley an fennel leaves…..and voila’! Ready to serve and enjoy!