1. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, chili, sugar, and a little salt. Stir then sauté 1 minute, until breadcrumbs are lightly golden. Transfer to a small serving bowl. 2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add celery and leaves, onion, fennel seeds, and anchovies, and sauté until soft and fragrant. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute without browning. Add tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper, and cook uncovered at a lively bubble 10 minutes. Add capers and pistachios, and turn off heat. 3. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt. Drop bucatini into water, giving it a stir to prevent sticking. 4. In another large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot. Dry tuna and add to skillet, spreading out to cook evenly. Season with salt and black pepper, and cook 2 minutes, just until tender. Deglaze skillet with Marsala, letting it bubble a few seconds. Add tuna, with skillet juices, to sauce. 5. When bucatini is al dente, drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Drizzle with oil and scatter on basil. Toss. Add sauce, toss again, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot, giving each bowl a generous sprinkling of breadcrumbs.
Blood Orange Salad with Mint and Black Olives Makes 5 servings
I love the way Sicilians treat oranges as a savory food, preparing them with sea salt, black pepper, onion, and herbs. That’s one of the many culinary legacies of Sicily’s long Arab rule. Sicily grows many varieties of oranges, but it's proudest of its blood oranges. Moro,Tarocco, and Sanguinello are three great varieties.They differ in sweetness and in color, some with deep burgundy flesh throughout and others mostly orange with streaks of deep red. A version of this salad is often presented at the end of the Christmas Eve meal as a palate cleanser before the desserts are brought out. Blood oranges weren’t easy to find when I was a kid, so I never tasted this salad until my first trip to Palermo, in the 1980s. Now I find imported Sicilian blood oranges (and Californian ones, too) in the winter. 8 to 10 blood oranges or a mix of blood and regular oranges, peeled, all the white removed, and sliced into thin rounds a few very thin slices red onion 1 handful black olives, unpitted sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (preferably a Sicilian brand) 1 handful fresh mint leaves 1. Arrange oranges in a circle on a large, festive serving platter. Scatter on onion and olives. Season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a generous drizzle of your best olive oil. Garnish with mint. (The oranges can be arranged on the platter ahead and refrigerated for a few hours, but all the other ingredients should be added at the last minute.)
winter 2013 real food 33