VIVA SICILIA!

The story of the ‘Saracens’ in Sicily began with violent conquest but proceeded into peace, prosperity and literal fruitfulness. Advancing into Southern Europe from North Africa in the 8 th century, these Arab and Berber Muslims planted lemon and orange trees as they went, adding a sour sting to the local palate, along with the sweetness of apricots and raisins.

Sugarcane came with them too, newly harvested and refi ned around Palermo. Christian convents and monasteries had already developed pastry recipes, to which the Saracens mixed in their sugar, almonds, sesame seeds and citrus zest to make the toffee-like Sicilian dessert giuggiulena (also known as cubbaita). They terraced the hillsides to cultivate nuts and vegetables, sewed the durum wheat from which the island made its fi rst pastas, and built syphon aqueducts to irrigate whole fi elds for rice.

Hence that other signature dish arancini – rice balls stuffed with meat or cheese. Indeed, as Sicily is now one of the world’s great gastronomic enclaves, it’s perhaps not so well known that native culinary culture owes at least as much to Arabia as to mainland Italia.

A beloved street food taking its name from the Sicilian word for oranges, which these stuffed rice balls resemble in shape and colour when coated in breadcrumbs and fried. The rice itself was introduced by the ruling Arab emirate, and the original recipe may be derived from Levantine snacks such as kibbeh. Regional variations have long since developed around the island, including cone-shaped arancini inspired by the volcanic profile of Mount Etna.

Prep time: 45 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Makes: 8

1 brown onion

3 garlic cloves

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

450g arborio rice

1.2L chicken stock

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

50g SpinneysFOOD Salted Butter

For the ragu

1 leek

2 medium carrots

40ml SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

400g SpinneysFOOD Organic Lean Beef Mince

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

4 tbsp non-alcoholic white wine

For the coating

50g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

100ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

1tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

200g breadcrumbs

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

1 Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. 2 To make the risotto, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes or so, until soft and translucent. Add the arborio rice and sauté for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the rice is lightly toasted. Add a ladle of chicken stock to the rice every 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed, while stirring continuously. This will take approx. 30-40 minutes. Once the rice mixture is creamy and the grains are just about tender, generously season with salt and stir in the butter. 3 Line a baking sheet with cling film and evenly spread the risotto in the tray. Place another sheet of cling film over it and refrigerate for 1 hour. 4 To make the ragu, rinse and finely chop the leek. Peel and grate the carrots. Heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Sauté the leeks and carrots until soft. Add the minced beef and sauté until browned. Season the meat and add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes. Cook for a further 10 minutes then add the non-alcoholic wine. Gently simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 5 Once the risotto and ragu are completely cooled, place one heaped tablespoon of rice into the palm of your hand and use your fingertips to shape it into a hollow bowl shape. Place one teaspoon of ragu in the centre of your rice bowl and gently close the rice around the filling to either form a ball or pear shape. Repeat with the remaining ragu and rice. 6 Once all the arancini have been made, whisk together the flour, water and salt until smooth. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate or baking dish. 7 Roll the arancini in the flour paste until fully coated, then roll in the breadcrumbs. 8 Heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the arancini in batches of two or three for approx. 3 minutes, or until golden. 9 Drain on a paper towels and serve while hot.

Aubergines, too, were believed to be first grown by medieval Saracen farmers and gardeners, though not fully accepted by islanders as being edible until the 16th century. This classic Sicilian dish dates back almost that far, made with sautéed aubergines, tomatoes, celery, olives and onions, then dressed with capers and a sweet-sour mixture of olive oil, vinegar and sugar. Again, a great number of variations exist, some including sweet peppers, pine nuts or raisins, but without that distinct agrodolce (sweet-sour) taste first introduced by those early Arab chefs, it is not considered a true caponata.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 500ml

2 large aubergines

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for deep-frying

1 brown onion

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

50g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

3 tbsp raisins

1 sprig of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

2 celery stalks

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

100ml white grape vinegar

60g capers, rinsed

150g pitted green olives

25g pine nuts

1 Cube the aubergines and salt them generously. Allow to stand for 20 minutes. 2 Heat the oil to 180°C. 3 Rinse and pat the aubergine cubes dry then deep fry in two batches until a dark golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. 4 Peel and chop the onion. 5 Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and sauté over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until golden. Stir in the sugar and cook for a further 10-20 minutes, until caramelised. 6 Meanwhile, soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes. Shred the basil. Chop the celery. 7 Once the onions have caramelised add the tomatoes, vinegar, and celery. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the capers, olives, drained raisins, pine nuts, basil and aubergines. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. 8 Allow to cool completely before serving.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, pour the gelato mixture into two zip-top bags. Lay them flat on a baking tray in the freezer. Freeze until firm. Break up the mixture and place in a blender. Blitz until smooth then return to the container and freeze again.

Also eaten across mainland Italy, granita is believed to be derived from the ice sherbets that first came to Sicily from the Levant via Egypt and Morocco. Similar to sorbet, but with a coarser consistency, it is now made to different flavours and textures throughout the island. In Catania, it is very common to find granita flavoured with almonds (another Arabian import), whereas in Messina it is often flavoured with coffee and served with cream.

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus resting time and freezing time)

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 1L

200g whole peeled almonds

500ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

100g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

½ tsp bitter almond extract (or substitute regular almond extract)

1 Place the almonds and water in a blender and blitz until smooth. Allow the mixture to rest for

2 hours. 2 Using a fine sieve or muslin cloth, strain the mixture into a small pot, making sure to squeeze out all of the fresh almond milk. Discard the leftover almond pulp. Add the sugar and extract to the pot. Place the pot over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a gentle boil. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Stir the almond milk if it begins to boil over. After 4 minutes, pour the mixture back into the blender (make sure it’s clean) and blend it again. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. 3 Pour the mixture into a shallow container, cover, and place it in the fridge until it starts to develop ice crystals (approx. 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes). Remove the mixture from the freezer and stir it with a fork or whisk to break up the ice crystals. Return it to the freezer and repeat this process 3-4 times, until the granita has a smooth and consistent texture. Keep in mind that the time it takes for ice to form will decrease each time.

4 Allow the granita to thaw in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. You can also store it in the freezer for 1-2 days.

Fairly common across Tunisia and the Mediterranean, panelle are an early form of fritter first developed by Arabs and Berbers in the region, filling bread rolls with fried squares of chickpea flour, then seasoning them with fresh lemon – two key ingredients brought to Sicily by the Saracens.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

250g chickpea flour

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

700ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

4 soft bread rolls

To serve

Lemon wedges

1 Combine the chickpea flour and salt in a large pot, whisking together while dry. Slowly pour in most of the water, reserving some for later. While continuously whisking over a medium heat, mix from the centre outwards to prevent lumps from forming. Gradually pour in the remaining water, continuing to whisk until the mixture has a fairly liquid consistency. To check if it’s ready, lift up a spoonful of the mixture; it should move down without being runny. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slightly. 2 Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley, leaving the leaves nearly intact.

3 Return the pot to heat and stir continuously until the flour thickens. To speed up the cooking process, stir more vigorously; this should take approx. 30 minutes. Once it has the right consistency, add the parsley and stir again to distribute it evenly. Turn off the heat.

4 Using a spatula, spread the mixture onto a marble work surface until it is approx. 4-5mm thick. Let it cool a bit then trim the edges to create rectangle approx. 45cm wide. Cut this rectangle into smaller rectangles about 10cm wide. Allow the panelle to stand at room temperature until the surface of the dough is dry – this will make them extra crunchy. 5 Heat a large volume of oil in a pot. Once hot, immerse a few panelle at a time. Fry until golden, turning frequently, for approx. 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to paper towels.

6 Serve the panelle on their own or in between sliced bread rolls, using 5 panelle per roll. It’s best to eat them while still hot.

The almond and pistachio trees planted on Sicily by the incoming Arabs changed the landscape as well as the flavour profile of island cuisine. Gelato, meanwhile, was and is no less popular in Sicily than on the mainland, though the local variation has a different taste and texture than that of, say, Piedmont, at the foot of the Alps. Climate and available ingredients are key factors, and Sicily is simply too hot for a heavy, custard-based frozen dessert to offer more than a couple of minutes’ relief before the cream and eggs raise your body temperature. Fruit-based sorbets and granitas are preferred for that reason, and while pistachio goes well with a milky gelato, many artisanal producers avoid fat-rich thickening agents. Instead, they use carob flour, which is readily available in southern Sicily.

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus overnight chilling and freezing time)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Makes: 1L

150g shelled unsalted pistachio nuts

130g granulated sugar

625ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

250ml single cream

160g granulated sugar

3 tbsp corn starch

1 Bring a small pot of water to a boil. 2 Add the shelled pistachio nuts and simmer for two minutes. Drain and rinse the nuts under cold water to cool them completely. Dry the nuts with paper towels and remove any leftover skins.

3 Place the nuts in a blender then add the sugar. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground, stopping from time to time to scrape down the bowl.

4 Add 125ml of milk and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5 Heat the remaining milk in a pot and bring to a gentle simmer. 6 In a large bowl, whisk the cream, sugar and corn starch together then add the hot milk while whisking. Return the mixture to the pot and cook until thickened – approx. 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight – it must be very cold.

7 Whisk the pistachio paste into the mixture.

Strain the mixture then pour into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is thick and icy but still easily scoopable. 8 Place in a freezer-proof container and freeze until firm. 9 Gelato is best enjoyed a day or two after making.

The roots of the traditional Trapani-style couscous with seafood can be traced directly to North Africa (where it was made with meat). Besides introducing the base grains of semolina that make couscous itself, the Saracens also taught islanders new fishing methods that eventually became standard in catching the seafood that also defines the dish. Its aromatics are mostly derived from Arabic cooking, too, including almonds and cinnamon or cloves.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

1 celery stick

1 carrot

1 brown onion

4 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

250ml SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Passata

125ml non-alcoholic wine

1½L SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

500g mix of clams, mussels and prawns (reserving the prawn shells)

200g fish heads

Pinch of saffron

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

5 SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns

300g couscous

2 garlic cloves

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Parsley, plus extra for serving

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Cinnamon

500g white fish fillets

To serve

Lemon wedges

1 Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Sauté the celery, carrot and onion until they are soft without browning. Add the tomato passata and stir for 4-5 minutes. Pour the non-alcoholic wine and water into the pan then add the prawn shells and fish heads, saffron, a pinch of salt, the bay leaf and peppercorns. Allow the mixture cook for 40 minutes then strain and set aside. 3 Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions, replacing the water with the stock you just made. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before fluffing with a fork. 4 Finely chop the garlic and parsley. 5 Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a fresh pan over a medium heat. Sauté the garlic and parsley for 1-2 minutes. Add the cinnamon followed quickly by the fish fillets and the shellfish. 6 Transfer the couscous to a large serving dish and top it with the fish fillets, shellfish and sauce from the pan. Drizzle more stock over the couscous to moisten it without making it too soupy. 7 Serve with extra parsley and lemon wedges.

The first mention of the lemon tree in any language comes from an Arabic source, and citruses bloomed across the medieval Emirate of Sicily. Islanders remain powerfully fond of lemons, eating them raw with salt, in salad, in sherbet, with meat and fish. They also infuse many desserts, along with other blooms used to fragrance and flavour native sweets: rose water, orange blossom, bergamot and jasmine.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

1 lemon

1 orange

500ml SpinneysFOOD Full Fat Milk

3 egg yolks

150g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

40g SpinneysFOOD All-Purpose Flour

40g corn flour

½ tsp orange blossom water

2 large SpinneysFOOD Organic Free-Range Eggs

250g breadcrumbs

SpinneysFOOD Pure Sunflower Oil, for frying

1 Prepare a 23cmx23cm square baking tray by lining it with cling film. Place it in the fridge to cool. 2 Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of peel from the lemon and orange. 3 To make the custard, take a heavy-bottomed saucepan and pour the milk into it. Heat the milk over a low heat and add a strip each of lemon and orange peels. 4 Meanwhile, in a large glass bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the flour and corn flour to the mixture and whisk until it is fully incorporated. Pour a ladle of hot milk into the mixture to loosen it up. Remove the citrus peels from the milk and add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook the custard while continuously whisking until it reaches a thick, velvety, pudding-like texture. Add the orange blossom water to the custard. 5 Remove the baking tray from the fridge and pour the hot custard into it, spreading it evenly with a spatula to a depth of 2cm. Allow the custard to cool down to room temperature and harden a bit. 6 Slice the custard into squares or diamonds. 7 Place the eggs in a shallow bowl and lightly beat together. Place the breadcrumbs in a plate. Dip the custard squares into the beaten eggs then coat them in breadcrumbs.

8 Heat the sunflower oil in a deep-fryer or pan to 180°C. Fry the breaded custard squares until they turn golden on all sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels to drain. 9 Serve while still warm.

Make these Sicilian dishes using ingredients available in stores.

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