Seafood specialities in the typical restaurant in Cefalù

Penne rigate

Salted ricotta

Aubergines

Extra virgin olive oil

Garlic

Tomatoes

Basil

PREPARATION:

To prepare pasta alla Norma, peel the aubergines, slice them, and place them in a container with salted water for at least an hour to remove their bitter liquid. Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes after blanching them for a few minutes in hot water, chop them, and put them in a terracotta pan, adding the garlic and cooking over very low heat. Finish cooking by adding, after turning off the heat, olive oil and basil leaves. Then fry the aubergines in plenty of extra virgin olive oil, and when they are golden brown, drain them and transfer them to a kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Cook the pasta al dente, and when it's almost ready, add the tomato sauce and mix. Transfer the pasta to serving plates, season with the fried aubergine slices, a generous sprinkling of grated salted ricotta, and a few more basil leaves. 

N.B. Pasta alla Norma, of Sicilian origin, is a first course particularly suitable for a summer meal, both for the availability of its main ingredients and for the fresh taste that characterizes it.

INGREDIENTS:

Spaghetti

Clams

Garlic

Parsley

Oil 

PREPARATION:

Place the clams in cold salted water to purge for a couple of hours. Then, pour the well-washed cockles into a pan, cover, and wait for them to open, then strain the water. Sauté the minced garlic in a pan with the oil, and once golden brown, add the cockles with the strained water. Keep on the heat for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti, drain them al dente, and toss them in the pan until they are well coated. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkling with parsley. Enjoy your meal!

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 kg of sardines

150 g breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese (optional)

2 salted anchovies

1 bunch of parsley

30 g pine nuts

50 g raisins

2 lemons

sugar

extra virgin olive oil

bay leaves

salt, pepper

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 20 minutes

PREPARATION

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and let the breadcrumbs brown; then transfer it to a bowl (keeping aside a tablespoon).

Add the raisins soaked in warm water and squeezed, pine nuts, desalted anchovies, deboned and dissolved in a little oil, chopped parsley, pecorino cheese, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper and mix everything carefully, incorporating, if necessary, more oil.

Clean the sardines, removing the heads and bones; wash them, lay them on a surface, and sprinkle with salt. Spread some of the prepared mixture on each sardine and roll them up, forming rolls. Then, place them in a greased baking dish, alternating them with bay leaves and thin slices of lemon.

Finally, drizzle the preparation with a lemon juice emulsion and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs and a pinch of sugar. Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes.

... Enjoy your meal!

Ingredients:

 

1 round purple aubergine

500 g tomato sauce

1 clove of garlic

Grated ricotta salata to taste

Basil

A pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

Oil for frying

Salt

Method:

Let's start our recipe by slicing the aubergine into rounds (about 1 centimetre thick), sprinkling them with salt, and leaving them in a colander covered with a weight for at least half an hour - this way they will release excess vegetable water which can be bitter. Once this step is done, it's time to fry the aubergines, browning them well on both sides.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a pan, sauté the whole garlic clove in oil, remove it, and pour in the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and some basil leaves.

Now, let's assemble the parmigiana: alternate layers of aubergine, sauce, grated ricotta salata, and some basil leaves, repeating for 3 or 4 layers, and decorate with a sprig of basil.

500 g chickpea flour

1.5 litres water

Salt

Pepper

Parsley

Lemon

Oil for frying

1 silicone mould (e.g., for a loaf pan)