When Martina Caruso talk about his island your eyes shine!
The island in question is Salina, the most agricultural of the Aeolian Islands, where the young chef of the Restaurant of the Hotel Signum (1 Michelin star) was born and raised. He loves the sense of freedom from time and the pulsating energy of the earth, so that when he grows up he would like to have his own farm where he can grow fruit, vegetables and gather wild herbs to preserve, because the island gives wonderful ingredients in the winter it's spring.

This year Martina received the Michelin Chef Donna 2019 award "for her great will and ability to progress and to represent her radiant island, through a great technique and the feminine touch of a passionate and determined young woman".

In these recipes you will find all the warmth, flavor and taste of a generous place and the wisdom of a family tradition, simple and genuine, but contemporary. A fun and delicious way to explore a truly unique Sicilian gastronomic heritage.

Aeolian Sandwich Club
Ingredients for 4 servings
12 slices of sliced ​​bread
1 eggplant
2 tomatoes
5 lettuce leaves
40 g of Salina capers in oil
50 g of albacore tuna in oil
8 anchovy fillets in oil
100 g of mayonnaise
8 potatoes

Preparation
Cut the aubergines into slices and grill them on a plate.
Wash and dry the lettuce and cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
Remove the outer crust from the slices of bread. Toast it in the oven for a few minutes at 160 ° C, then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise and capers on a slice of bread.

Form the first layer overlapping on the same slice of bread in order: aubergines, lettuce and tuna in oil.
Spread the mayonnaise on both sides of a second slice of bread and place it on top of the first layer of ingredients.
Continue with another layer of bread with tomatoes, anchovies in oil and hard-boiled eggs cut into slices.

Finish with a third slice of bread on which the mayonnaise is spread only from the inside of the sandwich. With one hand, lightly press the sandwich so that the layers remain firmer, block them with two toothpicks and cut the sandwich in half diagonally.
Serve with fried potatoes with peel and sauces.

Spaghetti with garlic, oil and chilli in sea stew and parsley
Ingredients for 4 servings
360 g of spaghetti
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of dried chilli
200 ml fish stock
300 ml of parsley centrifuged
1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese
250 g of breadcrumbs
White wine to blend
Pasteurized garlic:
50 g of clean garlic without a core
60 g of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation
For the pasteurized garlic: Blend the garlic without core with extra virgin olive oil, put the mixture in a terracotta bowl and bake at 100 ° C for 1 hour.
Cook the spaghetti in abundant salted water.

Prepare the stew: in a pan fry the garlic and chilli in the oil, add the white wine and add the fish stock.
Drain the pasta and stir in the sea stew, adding the Parmesan.
In a pan toast the breadcrumbs with oil. Prepare the parsley centrifuge by adding all the parsley (leaves and stems)
in a centrifuge, then reduce by adding some xanthan.

Place a spaghetti “nest” on the plate, pour the parsley centrifuge in the center of the nest, sprinkle with the toasted breadcrumbs.

Scorfano in Ghiotta
Ingredients for 4 servings
2 redfishes of about 500 g
1 celery stalk
2 tomatoes
8 green olives
1 tablespoon of Salina capers
1 onion
3 g of tomato paste
fish soup
300 g of boiled potatoes
230 g of milk
30 g of Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
½ glass of dry white wine
chopped onion, celery, parsley and oil
salt
sugar
Origan
wild fennel

Preparation
Gut the scorpion fish, cut all the pungent fins, scale them, wash them in running water and let them drain.
In a frying pan, prepare a sauce with the mixture (onion, celery, parsley, oil), extra virgin olive oil and oregano, then place the cleaned and cut scorpion fish fillets, add the white wine and add a tablespoon of fish stock . Cook the redfish for a few minutes, leaving it moist inside.

In a saucepan prepare the greedy sauce: cook the tomatoes cut into small cubes, with extra virgin olive oil, chopped green olives, tomato paste and fish stock.
Slice the onion and place it in a container with salt and sugar for 4 hours. At the end, drain it from the liquid it has released.
Fry the Salina capers and the wild fennel in oil.

For the cream of potatoes – Cook the boiled potatoes with milk, parmesan and a pinch of salt on low heat for 5 minutes. Then whisk well and sieve. The operation can be done with a food processor.

Presentation of the dish Place the ghiotta sauce in a deep dish, then the sliced ​​onion, the scorpion fish fillets, the
potato cream (you can make it frothy with the use of a siphon), decorate with capers and fried fennel.

Aeolian salad
Ingredients for 4 servings
4 boiled potatoes
1 tropea onion
500 g of cherry tomatoes
40 g of large caliber Salina capers
Mint and Oregano
Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation
Boil the potatoes, then peel them and cut them. Cut the tomatoes in half and fillet the onion.

Drain the capers well: put them in water at room temperature for about 12 hours, the water must be about twice the amount of capers. Change the water about 3-4 times over the entire procedure, tasting, so as to check the balance between the taste of the caper and the residual salt. Depending on the size of the caper, soaking times increase, and the water must be changed more frequently. Desalination is the most important procedure to fully enjoy their unmistakable taste.

Arrange all the ingredients in the dish, season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, oregano and mint leaves.

Milk, Chocolate, Coffee and Carob Soup
Ingredients for 4 servings
MILK SOUP
225 g of whole milk
25 g of fresh cream
10 g of corn starch
25 g of sugar
PRALINE
50 g of milk chocolate
50 g of white chocolate
10 g of butter
5 g of ground coffee
50 g of cereals for breakfast to taste
CARRUBA SYRUP
50 g of chopped carob
water
WAFER
35 g of "00" flour
35 g of sugar
35 g of butter
40 g of egg white

Preparation
For the Soup – Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil almost. Let the mixture begin to thicken, then turn off the heat and let it cool, with the film in contact.

For the praline – Melt the chocolates and butter in a bain-marie, then add the cereals and coffee powder, keeping a little aside for decoration. Form a square tile and let it cool. Once cold, cut into squares.

For the syrup – Cover the carob with water and let it sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary. Bring to a boil over low heat and then leave to rest for 24 hours, strain and leave to restrict. Alternatively, the "Carruba must" can be used.

For the waffle – Melt the butter gently, add the sugar and flour a little at a time and finally the beaten egg whites. Spread the mixture on a silicone mat, forming thin circles. Bake at 180 ° C for a few minutes.

Preparation of the dessert – Place the milk soup at the base of the holster, resting on the praline with the chocolate, sprinkle with the coffee powder, decorate with the carob syrup and the wafer.

by Francesca Romana Barberini
photo credits: Stefano Butturini

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