Private Sicilian Cooking class 10th August

BECCAFICO 

we used 24 anchoives to make 12 beccafico cakes

The anchoives need to be without any middle bones and clean , opened in half and with tails left on .
400 g of fresh breadcrumbs
salt & pepper
1 1/2 organge juice
50 g Raisins
30 g pine nuts
100 g Parmesan
2 eggs – beat
500 g of Stale breadcrumbs

Beccafico procedure 

* In a bowl , mix together : fresh breadcrumbs , orange juice , raisins, pine nuts , parmesan , salt and pepper . mix together so they make a nice soft consistency . 

First take your anchovies and place a table spoon of the breadcrumb mixture and squash it between the two anchovies, forming a sandwich. 

Once you have completed all of your anchovies ,  cover them with the beaten egg and then cover them with the breadcrumbs. 

fry your beccafico cakes in sunflower oil until nice and crispy .

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Fresh homemade Maccheroni alla Norma
Fresh homemade Maccheroni alla Norma

MACCHERONI ALLA NORMA 

Pasta for 4 -6 people 

Long thin metal skewers  .  called ferro, a metal spike . . However, a thin wooden skewer works as a substitute too.

1/2 kg  of semola flour

a lug of olive oil

250 ml of water

a large pinch salt

** Preparing Lasagna Recipe Pasta – Use instead the 00 flour and one egg to 100 grams of flour. 

Preparing the pasta

On a clean surface add all the flour and add the pinch of salt .  With your hands create  a hole in the middle .

in the hole gently add the water and with your hand slow mix the flour into water . continue adding the water , until you get a nice firm dough. kneed the dough together , stretching it for about 10 minutes

now cover the dough and let it rest for minimum an hour .( we did not do this , make if you have time its best ). 

Once the pasta has rested , we can start making the maccheroni .

Cut small pieces of the pasta dough  and place the skewer on top .

The trick, so to speak, is to apply enough pressure on the piece of dough so that it flattens and spreads around the ferro as you roll it, but not so much as to make it stick to the ferro. At the end of the process, you want to be able to slide the maccheroni from the ferro without misshaping it (if that happens, you can always re-roll the dough and try again).

Cook the maccheroni in salted boiling water once they start to float up  on top , the pasta is ready . 

Tomato Sauce 

500 g of Piccadilly tomatoes  – briefly boiled and skinned and cut in quarters  (we squeezed the seeds out )

3 garlic gloves

A large lug of good quality extra virgin olive oil

large quantity of Basil leaves

Tomato sauce

Procedure : In a pan , place you tomatoes and keep on a medium heat for around 45 minutes , the tomatoes will loose their water and then the sauce will start to thicken and dry up , continuously giving them a sqaush with a fork  . Add 2 teaspoons of salt

Once its the right consistency , turn off the heat , add the basil and the 3 garlic cloves  and the olive oil . (you can remove the garlic before you use the tomato sauce ) .

Your sauce is done.

IMG_6183Involtini di sword fish  with lemon x 4 

400 g of sliced hammered down sword fish  –
1 lemon grated
200 g of Fresh breadcrumbs
Parsley finely chopped
salt and pepper

100 g of Parmesan cheese grated

Mix the breadcrumbs with parsley and parmesan.

On your  sword fish  add a large lug of olive oil and mix well , add the grated lemon and salt and pepper . Mix well

Take each piece of sword fish and roll into the breadcrumb mixture , rolling it tightly making sure there is breadcrumbs in the middle and give a final gentle squeeze .  Put each involtino on the wooden skewer , max 4-5 pieces per skewer.

Mandarinetto or Limoncello 

15 mandarins or Lemon skins infused in 1 liter of 95 % alcohol for 2 weeksIMG_1349

add 1,200 liters of water with 200 gr of sugar

bottle and store for 1 month .

Filter

Violà your liqueur   is ready !